Life Sciences & Biotechnology Update articles from August 2001

Life Sciences & Biotechnology Update archives from August 2001

MENTAL HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES WORKERS IN MAJOR DISASTERS: A TRAINING MANUAL.
August 1, 2001... The primary purpose of this (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) manual is to present an overview of essential information including: how disasters affect children, adults, and older adults; the importance of tailoring...

INSECTS AS MODEL SYSTEMS FOR NEURONAL DEVELOPMENT AND REPAIR MECHANISMS.
August 1, 2001... An experimental drug, PDMP, has been shown to block metastasis by inhibiting the display of carbohydrates on tumor cell surfaces. Further work with PDMP and related drugs to prevent the spread of cancer now seems justified. This (University...

NEUROCHEMICAL, MOLECULAR, AND GENETIC FACTORS OF CHRONIC STRESS AND NEURONAL PATHOLOGY.
August 1, 2001... This (Scripps Research Institute) publication tests the hypothesis that chronic stress produces lasting changes in brain dopamine function, leading to permanent neuronal damage through oxidative mechanisms. Certain subject populations may be...

BRAIN MITOCHONDRIA: PRO-APOPTOTIC CHANGES AFTER TOXIN EXPOSURE.
August 1, 2001... Mitochondria normally function to provide sources of energy for vital cellular functions; however, under stressful conditions these organelles may trigger events that lead eventually to cell death. Thus, mitochondria have been implicated as...

KAINIC-ACID-INDUCED NEURODEGENERATION: PROTECTIVE MECHANISMS OF NITRONE ANTIOXIDANTS.
August 1, 2001... This (Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation) research focuses on developing nitrone-based antioxidants as antidotes against chemical agents that induce excitatory neurotoxicity. It is proposed to use kainic acid, an analog of the excitatory...

THE NIGROSTRIATAL DOPAMINE SYSTEM AND METHAMPHETAMINE: ROLES FOR EXCITOTOXICITY AND ENVIRONMENT, METABOLIC, AND OXIDATIVE STRESS.
August 1, 2001... This (Case Western Reserve University) report concerns degeneration of the nigrostriatal dopamine system, which is linked to the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease. Similarly, the psycho-stimulant drug, methamphetamine, also produces...

PARKINSON'S DISEASE DEGENERATIVE RISK AFTER TOXIN EXPOSURE AND STRESS.
August 1, 2001... Parkinson's disease (PD) is caused by deterioration of the dopamine (DA) nigrostriatal system. Loss of DA can be induced specifically by neurotoxic lesion of DA neurotransmitter producing somata in the substantia nigra, or through lesioning...

HYPOXIC STRESS: SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION AND GENE REGULATION, A POTENTIAL ROLE IN NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE.
August 1, 2001... The primary objective of this (University Of Cincinnati) research project is to determine the role of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways (specifically p38 kinase) in mediating the cellular response to hypoxia-stress. The...

REDUCING THE RISK OF HIV AND OTHER BLOOD-BORNE INFECTIONS IN DRUG USERS: A COMMUNITY OUTREACH MODEL.
August 1, 2001... This (National Institute on Drug Abuse) manual is intended to serve as a guide for community-based HIV risk-reduction efforts targeting out-of-treatment drug users. The NIDA Community-Based Outreach Model described here, represents the...

SALMONELLA ENTERICA: SEROTYPE ENTERITIDIS IN TABLE-EGG LAYING CHICKENS IN THE U.S.
August 1, 2001... This (National Animal Health Monitoring System) report has the following contents: Introduction; Salmonella; Layers '99 Study; Terms used in the report; Section I: Population Estimates: (1) SE Monitoring/Prevention Practices (SE programs...

ANTIBODY-PRETARGETED CYTOKINE THERAPY FOR CANCER.
August 1, 2001... This (Fox Chase Cancer Center) report hypothesizes that the selective accumulation of systemically administered cytokines at tumor sites can alter tumor microenvironments to favor the induction of anti-tumor immune responses. It further...

ROLE OF EMMPRIN IN TUMOR PROGRESSION.
August 1, 2001... This (Tufts University) report discusses the role of EMMPRIN in tumor progression. Crucial steps in tumor progression and the process of metastasis (e.g., tumor growth; invasion through extracellular matrices; and angiogenesis) involve...

RECEPTOR MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES THAT INHIBIT TUMOR ANGIOGENESIS.
August 1, 2001... This (Adirondack Biomedical Research Institute) project is generating monoclonal antibodies to receptor molecules, for the angiogenic growth factor VEGF. These antibodies are tested for their potential as inhibitors of VEGF-stimulated...

A PREDISPOSING FACTOR IN BREAST CANCER: IDENTIFICATION OF PROTEINS REQUIRED FOR REPAIR OF DOUBLE-STRAND CHROMOSOME BREAKS.
August 1, 2001... This (Georgetown University) report addresses defects in the repair of double-strand chromosomal breaks (DSB), which are critical factors in familial and sporadic breast tumors. In model bacterial systems, such lesions can be ascribed to...

EMMPRIN: ITS ROLE IN TUMOR ANGIOGENESIS AND METASTASIS.
August 1, 2001... This (Tufts University) report addresses the role of EMMPIRIN in tumor angiogenesis and metastasis. A critical step in tumorigenesis is proteolytic modification of the peri-cellular matrix surrounding tumor cells by matrix metalloproteinases...

AXILLARY-DISSECTION'S IMPACT ON THE CLINICAL OUTCOME OF BREAST CANCER SURGERY.
August 1, 2001... This (University of Texas Medical Branch) work studies 26,290 women with early-stage breast cancer, aged >25, in 1983-1993, who received breast cancer surgery (BCS). Twenty-seven percent of those aged >25 women receiving BCS, did not receive...

ESTROGEN RECEPTOR ACTION ON CHROMATIN TEMPLATES.
August 1, 2001... Improvement of hormone-based therapy in breast cancer, and circumvention of its shortcomings, is limited by the lack of detailed understanding of how steroids, like estrogen, work at a cellular and molecular level. This (University of...

IN VIVO CROSSLINKING FOR CLONING AND CHARACTERIZATION OF ACTIVE Egr-1 TARGET GENES.
August 1, 2001... This (Burnham Institute) project identifies the profile of Egr-1 target genes in breast cells. Normal breast cells are shown to express Egr-1, while breast cancer cells do not. It is, therefore, important to identify the nature of those...

BREAST CANCER THERAPY ENHANCEMENT BY 6-AMINONICOTINAMIDE.
August 1, 2001... This (Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research) study focuses on in vivo assessment of enhancing tumor response to radiation (XRT) and adriamycin, by pretreatment with 6-aminonicotinamide (6AN) in the hormone sensitive MCF-7. Tumors are...

BREAST CANCER HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY.
August 1, 2001... This (Mount Sinai School of Medicine) report addresses hormonal replacement therapy for breast cancer. Since the overall risks and benefits of hormonal replacement therapy (HRT) in breast cancer survivors are not clearly established, and it...

CLINICAL EVALUATION OF DIGITAL MAMMOGRAPHY.
August 1, 2001... This (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine) study entails two aspects of translational research related to the clinical application of digital mammography: technology optimization (Phase 1); and a clinical evaluation (Phase 2). The...

PROSTATE CANCER: PRODRUG TARGETING BASED ON NAALADase ACTIVITY OF PROSTATE-SPECIFIC MEMBRANE ANTIGEN.
August 1, 2001... This (Johns Hopkins University) report concerns prodrug targeting based on the NAALADase activity of Prostate- Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA) by prostate cancer. Approximately forty thousand men will die in the U.S. this year from...

PROSTATE CANCER: NITRIC ACID GENE THERAPY.
August 1, 2001... This (William Beaumont Hospital) report addresses nitric oxide gene therapy for prostate cancer. Traditional therapies for advanced prostate cancer are unable to cure a majority of patients. One approach to therapy is over-production of...

PROSTATE CANCER INTERVENTION USING A FLAVONOID ANTIOXIDANT, SILYMARIN.
August 1, 2001... The oncogenic potential of advanced and androgen- independent prostate cancer (PCA) is causally associated with a ligand/receptor autocrine growth loop e.g., interaction of transforming growth factor-alpha (TGFalpha) and epidermal growth...

PROSTATE TUMOR ANGIOGENESIS AND GROWTH: EFFECT OF eIF4E ANTISENSE RNA EXPRESSION.
August 1, 2001... This (Louisiana State University Medical Center) report addresses the effect of eIF4E antisense RNA expression on prostate tumor angiogenesis and growth. Some mRNA with complex 5' regions that are more efficiently translated in the presence of...

PROSTATE CANCER: THERAPEUTIC RESISTANCE MEDIATED BY CADHERIN T6.
August 1, 2001... In order to better understand the molecular basis for the development of therapeutic resistance by prostate cancer, this (Columbia University) work undertakes experimentation to genetically compare therapy- resistant prostate cancer cells to...

NOAA DIVING MANUAL.
August 1, 2001... This extensive (NOAA) manual is a must-have for all serious divers. It is the most detailed authorative diving reference available. Whether you dive for work, scientific research, or just for excitement and fun, this definitive encyclopedia...

ELECTRIC PROPERTIES OF BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS.
August 1, 2001... This (NIST) bibliographic-survey addresses the electrical properties of biological materials. The number of electronic devices -- which includes cardiac defibrillators, cardiac pacemakers, infusion pumps, and spinal cord stimulators -- that...

MEAN ARTERIAL PRESSURE AND PULSE RATE MEASURED IN THE HAND: ACUTE EFFECTS OF HAND ELEVATION AND WRIST POSITION.
August 1, 2001... This (Air Force Institute of Technology) thesis studies the acute effects of hand elevation and wrist position on the mean arterial pressure and pulse rate measured in the hand. Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) to the wrist and hand are common...

RELIABILITY, DIAGNOSTIC ACCURACY, AND PREDICTIVE VALIDITY OF COMMONLY-USED CLINICAL METHODS TO DETERMINE CERVICAL RADICULOPATHY AND CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME.
August 1, 2001... Patients with cervical radiculopathy and carpal tunnel syndrome result in significant medical and occupational costs annually. There is a need to establish cost- effective, reliable, and accurate means for the diagnosis of both conditions....

U.S. ORAL HEALTH.
August 1, 2001... This (National Institute of Dental and Cranofacial Research) report is the first-ever Surgeon General's report on oral health, which alerts Americans to the full meaning of oral health and its importance to general health and well-being....