Life Sciences & Biotechnology Update articles from December 1999

Life Sciences & Biotechnology Update archives from December 1999

USING TELEMEDICINE FOR RURAL HEALTH CARE.
December 1, 1999... This (Texas A&M University/Texas Tech) project studies the adoption and continued use of two types of telemedicine (consultations and continuing education) in 5 rural communities and 2 urban locations in Texas. The project's objectives...

REFERRAL DECISIONS IN PRIMARY CARE.
December 1, 1999... This (University of Rochester) report addresses referral decisions in primary care. Referral decisions made by primary-care physicians have a significant impact on the cost and quality of care that patients receive. Studies show that the...

THE EVOLVING ROLE OF MANAGED CARE.
December 1, 1999... This (Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM))report addresses the evolving role of managed care. The mission of the SGIM is to promote improved patient care, research, and education, in primary-care and general internal medicine. The...

RACIAL AND ETHNIC DIFFERENCES IN HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE.
December 1, 1999... Despite many recent improvements in the health of Americans, substantial anomalies still exist between racial and ethnic groups. Differences in the health of racial and ethnic groups may result from differences in their experiences with our...

IS MEDICARE PRIVATE CONTRACTING PATERNALISM OR AUTONOMY?
December 1, 1999... This (American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research) report describes the provisions of Medicare that effectively prohibit Medicare beneficiaries from going outside Medicare and paying their physicians for care when they choose to...

QUALITY OF HOSPITALS USED FOR CORONARY ARTERY BYPASS GRAFT SURGERY FOR HMO VERSUS INSURED NON-HMO PATIENTS.
December 1, 1999... This (RAND Corp.) study uses hospital discharge data for 1992-1994 to assess differences between HMO and insured non-HMO patients in California and Florida, with regard to the quality of the hospitals used for coronary artery bypass graft...

MARINE MICROORGANISMS: MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMICAL MECHANISMS.
December 1, 1999... This brief (Harvard University) paper concerns the molecular biology and biochemical mechanisms of marine microorganisms. Dinoflagellate genes of interest -- including those associated with bioluminescence -- are isolated from a Gonyaulax...

THE ROLE OF PYRIDOSTIGMINE IN NEURODEGENERATION: A POSSIBLE CAUSATIVE FACTOR FOR THE GULF WAR SYNDROME.
December 1, 1999... This (Purdue University) report concerns pyridostigmine-induced neurodegeneration. Although pyridostigmine is a highly charged molecule, some reports suggest that it can penetrate into the brain. To determine whether the drug can cause...

PERSONAL COMPUTER MODELING OF THE INTERNAL FORCES AND MOTIONS OF THE HUMAN HEAD AND SPINE DURING IMPULSIVE ACCELERATION.
December 1, 1999... This (Biodynamic Research Corp.) report details a completed project: to apply the Air Force's Head-Spine Model (HSM) to a personal computer environment; to improve certain features of the software; and to add a user-friendly interface. The...

STUDY OF HUMAN TELOMERASE AND ITS COMPONENTS.
December 1, 1999... This (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory of Quantitative Biology) report concerns telomerase, the enzyme that maintains the repetitive DNA sequences found at the ends of chromosomes, which is an excellent candidate for an anti-tumor drug target....

BREAST CANCER AND UNDER-SERVED MINORITY WOMEN: PRIMARY CARE AND REGULAR BREAST CANCER SCREENING.
December 1, 1999... This (Georgetown University) report examines the features of primary care that promote regular breast cancer screening for under-served minority women. The study investigates features of the primary care process associated with higher rates of...

VISUALIZING EARLY-STAGE BREAST CANCER TUMORS IN MAMMOGRAPHY THROUGH THE USE OF A 3-D MATHEMATICAL MODEL.
December 1, 1999... In response to the insidious and deadly nature of breast cancer, and the less-than-perfect detection ability of mammography, this (Air Force Institute of Technology) thesis develops a mathematical model as a foundation to the long-term goal of...

TREATMENT OF CANCER METASTASES TO VERTEBRAL BODIES.(Abstract)
December 1, 1999... Up to 1/3 of all cancer patients develop metastases to the spinal column, and over 50% of spinal metastases with neurologic manifestations in females are found to arise from primary breast neoplasms. Burst-fracture can arise in such bones...

BREAST CANCER RISK IN RELATION TO LIFETIME ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION.(Abstract)
December 1, 1999... This (State University of New York) case-control study examines breast cancer risk in relation to lifetime alcohol consumption. Subjects are 1,350 pre- and post-menopausal women, age 35-79, from Erie and Niagara counties in New York State,...

PROBLEMS OF DRUG DEPENDENCY.(Abstract)
December 1, 1999... This (College on Problems of Drug Dependence Inc.) document contains the proceedings of a meeting on the problems of drug dependence (1998, Scottsdale, AZ). The partial contents of the document include: Nonhuman Primate Models for...

A NON-INTRUSIVE TEST FOR DRUGS: SUPERCRITICAL EXTRACTION OF COCAINE FROM HAIR.(Abstract)
December 1, 1999... This (NIST) study-report concerns supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), which is investigated as an environmentally friendly alternative to currently used wet-chemical procedures in hair drug testing protocols. The SFE behavior of...

STUDY OF AN OUT-OF-HOSPITAL BIRTH CENTER.(Abstract)
December 1, 1999... This (Primary Care Perinatal Services Inc.) report evaluates the safety (maternal and neonatal health outcomes), costs, and patient satisfaction, of a collaborative model of nurse-midwives and obstetricians having a free-standing birth center...

WORKPLACE HAZARDS EFFECTS ON FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH.(Abstract)
December 1, 1999... Many factors can affect a women's reproductive health and her ability to produce healthy children. We know that the health of an unborn child can suffer if a woman fails to eat right, smokes, or drinks alcohol during pregnancy. However, we...

DERMAL PENETRATION OF CHEMICALS AND DRUGS: MODELING OF CHEMICAL ABSORPTION THROUGH MEMBRANES.(Abstract)
December 1, 1999... Understanding the processes involved in dermal penetration of chemicals and drugs is important to both toxicologists and pharmacologists. Researchers developing new drugs are interested in enhancing the penetration of chemicals through the...

GUIDANCE MANUAL FOR ALTERNATIVE DISINFECTANTS AND OXIDANTS.(Abstract)
December 1, 1999... This (EPA) guidance manual: (1) describes alternative disinfectants and disinfection techniques that may be used to comply with both the Stage 1 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule (DBPR) and the Interim Enhanced Surface Water...

USING TELEMEDICINE FOR RURAL HEALTH CARE.
December 1, 1999... This (Texas A&M University/Texas Tech) project studies the adoption and continued use of two types of telemedicine (consultations and continuing education) in 5 rural communities and 2 urban locations in Texas. The project's objectives include...

REFERRAL DECISIONS IN PRIMARY CARE.
December 1, 1999... This (University of Rochester) report addresses referral decisions in primary care. Referral decisions made by primary-care physicians have a significant impact on the cost and quality of care that patients receive. Studies show that the...

THE EVOLVING ROLE OF MANAGED CARE.
December 1, 1999... This (Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM)) report addresses the evolving role of managed care. The mission of the SGIM is to promote improved patient care, research, and education, in primary-care and general internal medicine. The...

RACIAL AND ETHNIC DIFFERENCES IN HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE.
December 1, 1999... Despite many recent improvements in the health of Americans, substantial anomalies still exist between racial and ethnic groups. Differences in the health of racial and ethnic groups may result from differences in their experiences with our...

IS MEDICARE PRIVATE CONTRACTING PATERNALISM OR AUTONOMY?
December 1, 1999... This (American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research) report describes the provisions of Medicare that effectively prohibit Medicare beneficiaries from going outside Medicare and paying their physicians for care when they choose to...

QUALITY OF HOSPITALS USED FOR CORONARY ARTERY BYPASS GRAFT SURGERY FOR HMO VERSUS INSURED NON-HMO PATIENTS.
December 1, 1999... This (RAND Corp.) study uses hospital discharge data for 1992-1994 to assess differences between HMO and insured non-HMO patients in California and Florida, with regard to the quality of the hospitals used for coronary artery bypass graft...

ASPIRIN AND HYPOTHERMIA EFFECTS ON PLATELET FUNCTION IN VIVO.
December 1, 1999... Hypothermia, aspirin, and cardiopulmonary bypass can each induce a platelet function defect, but it is not known if the effects of aspirin and hypothermia are additive in this regard. To address this question in humans in vivo, this (Boston...

EFFECTS OF CARDIOPULMONARY BYPASS ON HEMOSTASIS.
December 1, 1999... This (Boston University School of Medicine) report concerns the effects of cardiopulmonary bypass on hemostasis. The vast majority of cardiac surgical operations are performed with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Blood contact with the...

MARINE MICROORGANISMS: MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMICAL MECHANISMS.
December 1, 1999... This brief (Harvard University) paper concerns the molecular biology and biochemical mechanisms of marine microorganisms. Dinoflagellate genes of interest -- including those associated with bioluminescence -- are isolated from a Gonyaulax...

THE PATHOGENESIS OF RICKETTSIAE.
December 1, 1999... This (Air Force Institute of Technology) report addresses the pathogenesis of Rickettsiae. Within the order Rickettsiales, reside a diverse group of bacteria that include human pathogens in the genera Rickettsia, Coxiella, Ehrlichia, and...

THE ROLE OF PYRIDOSTIGMINE IN NEURODEGENERATION: A POSSIBLE CAUSATIVE FACTOR FOR THE GULF WAR SYNDROME.
December 1, 1999... This (Purdue University) report concerns pyridostigmine-induced neurodegeneration. Although pyridostigmine is a highly charged molecule, some reports suggest that it can penetrate into the brain. To determine whether the drug can cause...

PERSONAL COMPUTER MODELING OF THE INTERNAL FORCES AND MOTIONS OF THE HUMAN HEAD AND SPINE DURING IMPULSIVE ACCELERATION.
December 1, 1999... This (Biodynamic Research Corp.) report details a completed project: to apply the Air Force's Head-Spine Model (HSM) to a personal computer environment; to improve certain features of the software; and to add a user-friendly interface. The...

THE HUMAN COMPUTER (BRAIN) INTERFACE AND PHOTIC DRIVING.
December 1, 1999... The application of a stroboscopic light within a certain frequency range may cause a subject's brain waves to follow or become entrained to the same frequency as the flashing light. This phenomenon is known as photic-driving. The objective of...

STUDY OF HUMAN TELOMERASE AND ITS COMPONENTS.
December 1, 1999... This (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory of Quantitative Biology) report concerns telomerase, the enzyme that maintains the repetitive DNA sequences found at the ends of chromosomes, which is an excellent candidate for an anti-tumor drug target....

EFFECTS OF TRANSGENIC PLANTS ON SOIL AND PLANT MICROORGANISMS.
December 1, 1999... This (Environmental Effects Research Laboratory) report addresses several microcosm and field studies performed using different transgenic plants, to evaluate the persistence of their products and their effects on soil and plant...

DIRECT-FILLING MERCURY-FREE SILVER ALTERNATIVE TO AMALGAM.
December 1, 1999... This (NIST) study investigates the wear resistance of a mercury-free silver direct-filling material and a dental amalgam. A precipitated silver powder is rinsed with dilute fluoboric acid and consolidated into a cohesive solid. For tooth...

DENTAL CEMENT DEMINERALIZING EFFECTS ON HUMAN DENTIN.
December 1, 1999... This (NIST) study is undertaken to verify the hypothesis that dentin surfaces are demineralized during placement of four kinds of chemically-setting cements: zinc phosphate cement; luting glass-ionomer cement; restorative glass-ionomer cement;...

MHC GENES AND BREAST CANCER.
December 1, 1999... This (Massachusetts General Hospital) study is based on preliminary results suggesting that the inheritance of the HLA (Human Leukocyte Antigen) class II DRB1* 0701 allele is linked to breast cancer in women under the age of 40. This data, if...

BREAST CANCER AND UNDER-SERVED MINORITY WOMEN: PRIMARY CARE AND REGULAR BREAST CANCER SCREENING.
December 1, 1999... This (Georgetown University) report examines the features of primary care that promote regular breast cancer screening for under-served minority women. The study investigates features of the primary care process associated with higher rates of...

VISUALIZING EARLY-STAGE BREAST CANCER TUMORS IN MAMMOGRAPHY THROUGH THE USE OF A 3-D MATHEMATICAL MODEL.
December 1, 1999... In response to the insidious and deadly nature of breast cancer, and the less-than-perfect detection ability of mammography, this (Air Force Institute of Technology) thesis develops a mathematical model as a foundation to the long-term goal of...

IMPROVED MAMMOGRAPHIC TECHNIQUE FOR DIAGNOSING BREAST CANCER.
December 1, 1999... This (University of Michigan) report addresses a program on an improved mammographic technique for breast cancer diagnosis. During the fourth year of the project, researchers have: (1) completed a simulation study of the effects of...

TREATMENT OF CANCER METASTASES TO VERTEBRAL BODIES.
December 1, 1999... Up to 1/3 of all cancer patients develop metastases to the spinal column, and over 50% of spinal metastases with neurologic manifestations in females are found to arise from primary breast neoplasms. Burst-fracture can arise in such bones...

BREAST CANCER RISK IN RELATION TO LIFETIME ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION.
December 1, 1999... This (State University of New York) case-control study examines breast cancer risk in relation to lifetime alcohol consumption. Subjects are 1,350 pre- and post-menopausal women, age 35-79, from Erie and Niagara counties in New York State,...

PROBLEMS OF DRUG DEPENDENCY.
December 1, 1999... This (College on Problems of Drug Dependence Inc.) document contains the proceedings of a meeting on the problems of drug dependence (1998, Scottsdale, AZ). The partial contents of the document include: Nonhuman Primate Models for Studying...

A NON-INTRUSIVE TEST FOR DRUGS: SUPERCRITICAL EXTRACTION OF COCAINE FROM HAIR.
December 1, 1999... This (NIST) study-report concerns supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), which is investigated as an environmentally friendly alternative to currently used wet-chemical procedures in hair drug testing protocols. The SFE behavior of cocaine, and...

STUDY OF AN OUT-OF-HOSPITAL BIRTH CENTER.
December 1, 1999... This (Primary Care Perinatal Services Inc.) report evaluates the safety (maternal and neonatal health outcomes), costs, and patient satisfaction, of a collaborative model of nurse-midwives and obstetricians having a free-standing birth center...

WORKPLACE HAZARDS EFFECTS ON FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH.
December 1, 1999... Many factors can affect a women's reproductive health and her ability to produce healthy children. We know that the health of an unborn child can suffer if a woman fails to eat right, smokes, or drinks alcohol during pregnancy. However, we...

DERMAL PENETRATION OF CHEMICALS AND DRUGS: MODELING OF CHEMICAL ABSORPTION THROUGH MEMBRANES.
December 1, 1999... Understanding the processes involved in dermal penetration of chemicals and drugs is important to both toxicologists and pharmacologists. Researchers developing new drugs are interested in enhancing the penetration of chemicals through the...

AUTOMATED LASER SYSTEM FOR BURN TREATMENT AND THERAPY.
December 1, 1999... This (Massachussets General Hospital) report details substantial progress made in the development of a diagnostic system capable of assessing the extent of burn injury, and a laser-based debridement system that rapidly, precisely, and...

IDENTIFICATION, EVALUATION, AND TREATMENT OF OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY IN ADULTS.
December 1, 1999... This (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) report addresses a panel convened to identify, evaluate. and treat overweight and obesity in adults. The panel is charged with developing clinical practice guidelines for primary care...

GUIDANCE MANUAL FOR ALTERNATIVE DISINFECTANTS AND OXIDANTS.
December 1, 1999... This (EPA) guidance manual: (1) describes alternative disinfectants and disinfection techniques that may be used to comply with both the Stage 1 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule (DBPR) and the Interim Enhanced Surface Water...