Life Sciences & Biotechnology Update articles from January 1999

Life Sciences & Biotechnology Update archives from January 1999

THE INSTANTANEOUS AXIS OF ROTATION OF THE HUMAN KNEE.
January 1, 1999... This (Naval Postgraduate School) thesis concerns the instantaneous axis of rotation for continuous human knee motion. Previous studies of human knee motion are based on finite rotation data collected using large rotation steps varying from 5...

EFFECTS OF A CEMENT-LINE INTERPHASE ON THE DYNAMIC MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF HAVERSIAN CORTICAL BONE TISSUE.
January 1, 1999... This (Texas A&M University) research has the broad overall goal of seeking to elucidate and understand the salient characteristics of naturally occurring biological composite materials, with an aim toward mimicking these features in devising...

TUMOR SUPPRESSOR PROTEIN p53 REACTS WITH CELLULAR PROTEINS AND INHIBITS BINDING TO SINGLE-STRAND DNA.
January 1, 1999... This (Brigham and Women's Hospital) study concerns the tumor suppressor protein p53, which interacts directly with the DNA replication factor RPA and inhibits its ability to bind single-strand DNA. The study defines the domain of p53 that...

STUDY OF THE STRUCTURE OF A CRITICAL CELL-MEMBRANE RECEPTOR, THE neu OR erbB-2 RECEPTOR.
January 1, 1999... Cancer results from a breakdown in the normal mechanisms that control the growth and division of cells. For many cells, the signals for initiating cell division are hormone molecules that bind to receptors on the surface of the cell. The...

STUDY OF MELATONIN AS A CHRONOBIOTIC TO AMELIORATE DESYNCHRONOSIS DURING TRAVEL AND SLEEP DEPRIVATION.
January 1, 1999... This (Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory) report concerns melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine),a natural hormone which has been shown to resynchronize circadian rhythms and induce sleep in humans. Melatonin is currently being marketed...

GENETIC TESTING FOR CANCER RISK: STUDY OF STRESS AND COPING.
January 1, 1999... This (University of Michigan) report concerns stress and coping in genetic testing of women for cancer risk. Predictive testing is now possible for mutations of genes which convey high risk of breast cancer, as well as an unknown increase in...

ROLE OF ENDOTOXIN OR BACTERIAL LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE ON ENDOTOXIN-ENDOTHELIAL INTERACTIONS AND ENDOTHELIAL BARRIER DYSFUNCTION.
January 1, 1999... This (University of Maryland School of Medicine) report details a study of the direct impact of endotoxin or bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on the pulmonary vascular endothelial cell (EC) barrier function. It finds that LPS induces: 1)...

MENINGOCOCCAL DISEASE: NEW IMPROVED VACCINES.
January 1, 1999... This (Walter Reed Army Institute of Research) report deals with meningococcal disease, which in its various forms is caused by Neisseria meningitides, an aerobic, gram-negative diplococcus. Its sole natural habitat is human mucosal membranes,...

BRUCELLA DELTA htrA STRAINS AS VACCINES.
January 1, 1999... This (Louisiana State University Medical Center) report concerns the bacterial stress response proteases of the high-temperature-requirement-A (htrA) family, which are thought to be an important component of cellular defense against oxidative...

LIPISOMES AS CARRIERS OF ANTIGENS AND ADJUVANTS FOR VACCINES.
January 1, 1999... This (Walter Reed Army Institute) report concerns lipisomes as carriers of antigens and adjuvants for vaccines. Numerous reviews of liposomes as carriers of antigens and adjuvants have been published since 1990. Liposomes have the advantage...

VACCINE THERAPY: ADMINISTRATION OF A MICROBE-SPECIFIC ANTIGEN FOR THERAPEUTIC PURPOSES AFTER THE ONSET OF ESTABLISHED DISEASE.
January 1, 1999... This (Walter Reed Army Institute of Research) report concerns `vaccine therapy.' In modern usage, the word `vaccine' is usually restricted to describe an immunogen administered to at-risk healthy subjects prior to their becoming exposed to a...

EVALUATION OF POTENTIAL ANTI-LEISHMANIA DRUGS IN ANIMAL MODELS.
January 1, 1999... This (University of Georgia Research Foundation) work studies a total of 16 selected compounds, which includes some natural products as well as drugs known to be efficacious against other diseases, at various dosage levels and via various...

ELECTRICALLY-MEDIATED CNS-TRAUMA REPAIR.
January 1, 1999... This (Purdue Research Foundation) work utilizes a quantitative three-dimensional computer-assisted morphometric technique for the evaluation of spinal cord pathology, which is applied to the evaluation of the effect of applied electric fields...

INTEGRATED REMOTE NEUROSURGICAL SYSTEM: A REMOTELY- OPERATED NEUROSURGICAL MICROSCOPE HAVING HIGH-SPEED COMMUNICATIONS AND A SURGEON-ACCESSIBLE USER INTERFACE.
January 1, 1999... This (University of Virginia) report concerns the Integrated Remote Neurosurgical System (IRNS), which is a remotely-operated neurosurgical microscope with high-speed communications and a surgeon-accessible user interface. The IRNS allows...

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN BREAST CANCER TREATMENT, OUTCOMES, AND COST-EFFECTIVENESS.
January 1, 1999... This (National Bureau of Economic Research Inc.) report concerns the relationships between breast-cancer treatment, outcomes, and cost-effectiveness. Little is known about these relationships across different population groups, health care...

AN IMPROVED MAMMOGRAPHIC TECHNIQUE FOR DIAGNOSING BREAST CANCER.
January 1, 1999... The goal of this (University of Michigan) research is to improve the sensitivity of cancer detection in mixed or dense breasts through optimization of mammographic techniques. It is aimed at the development of a novel exposure-equalization...

THE ROLE OF HMG-I(Y) IN HUMAN BREAST-CANCER METASTASIS.
January 1, 1999... This (Washington State University) research concerns the role of HMG-I(Y) in human breast-cancer metastasis. HMG-I(Y) proteins are mammalian architectural transcription factors. They have been demonstrated to be necessary for the...

RADIATION-INDUCED TRANSFORMATION IN HUMAN BREAST CELLS.
January 1, 1999... This (Georgetown University) study tests the hypothesis that ionizing radiation can transform to a malignant phenotype, immortalized/initiated breast cells, from a donor with Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS) containing a germline mutation. Human...

MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THE VERY HIGH SUSCEPTIBILITY OF IMMATURE MAMMARY GLANDS TO CARCINOGENIC INITIATION.
January 1, 1999... This (University of Wisconsin) work explores the hypothesis that the diminished ability of mammary cells from immature rats to recover from cytotoxic radiation damage may extend to an increased susceptibility to mammary carcinogenesis. If so,...

MICROBIAL INHABITANTS OF THERMAL ENVIRONMENTS: STUDY OF SULFOLOBUS ACIDOCALDARIUS ISOLATED FROM TERRESTRIAL HOT SPRINGS.
January 1, 1999... This (University of Cincinnati) report concerns a prokaryotic micro-organism originally isolated from terrestrial hot springs, Sulfolobus acidocaldarius, which is studied for its ability to exchange and recombine segments of its chromosome....

ENGINEERED BIOLUMINESCENT BACTERIA IN BIOFILMS: EFFECTS OF SHIFTS IN CELL-SURFACE PROPERTIES ON ADHESION AND ACTIVITY.
January 1, 1999... This (University of Tennessee) work studies the shifts in the membrane composition of two strains of Pseudoronas putida (solvent sensitive strain MW 200 and solvent tolerant strain Idaho) following exposure to solvent (o-xylene). Responses to...

ROBOTIC AND COMPUTER-ASSISTED MEDICAL-TREATMENT INTERVENTIONS.
January 1, 1999... This (Shadyside Medical Center) document reports on an international workshop dealing with robotics and computer-assisted medical interventions (RCAMI), which have emerged as a rapidly evolving area of research and development with great...

PATIENTS UNDERGOING OUTPATIENT SURGERY: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIAL SUPPORT AND COPING.
January 1, 1999... This (Air Force Institute of Technology) thesis examines the relationship between social support and coping for patients undergoing outpatient surgery. By the year 2020, it is expected that the senior population, 65 and older, will constitute...

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HEALTH BEHAVIORS AND HEALTH PROTECTION/PROMOTION.
January 1, 1999... Although the importance of health behaviors in preventing disease and protecting or promoting health has been well demonstrated, the relationship between health behaviors and health protection is not clearly understood. Understanding how...

DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMPUTERIZED CRITICAL INCIDENT TECHNIQUE (CCIT), TO ENHANCE MEDICAL CARE.
January 1, 1999... Iatrogenic illness and injury are a major source of morbidity and mortality for hospitalized patients; however, little is known about the incidence, nature, and causes of adverse medical events. The objective of this (Naval Health Research...

PERSIAN GULF WAR ILLNESS: EFFORTS RELATING TO EXPOSURES TO CHEMICAL AGENTS.
January 1, 1999... This (GAO) report looks at efforts by both government and private entities relating to what is termed the "Gulf War Syndrome." Approximately 700,000 U.S. service members served in the Persian Gulf during some point from August 1990 to June...

MEMBRANE-TRANSPORT PROBING OF CELLULAR HEAT STROKE.
January 1, 1999... This (University of Georgia) report concerns membrane transport probing of cellular heat stroke. In vitro effects of temperature on the permeation of Na+ and K+ are explored in the red cells of guinea pigs, to evaluate the energy depletion...

METHOD TO DETECT AND LOCALIZE AN ARTERY CONTAINING A PARTIAL BLOCKAGE, BY EXPLOITING THE SHEAR WAVE FIELD PROPERTIES OF THE SURROUNDING SOLID.
January 1, 1999... This (Naval Undersea Warfare Center) report describes a method that detects and localizes an artery containing a partial blockage, by exploiting the shear wave field properties of the surrounding solid. An array measurement system is placed...

AUTONOMIC FUNCTIONS OF BLOOD PRESSURE REGULATION AND ORTHOSTATIC PERFORMANCE IN WOMEN.
January 1, 1999... This (Armstrong Laboratory) report concerns the functions in women of: baroreflex control of heart rate; vascular resistance; adrenoreceptor responsiveness; indices of baseline vagal and sympathetic tone; plasma volume; and venous compliance....