Life Sciences & Biotechnology Update articles from January 2001

Life Sciences & Biotechnology Update archives from January 2001

WORLDWIDE ISSUES OF CHILD HEALTH.
January 1, 2001... This (Peace Corps) manual on child health was prepared primarily for health technical trainers. It consists of: a trainer's guide; an in-country overview of child health; fundamental health issues; entering the community; understanding the...

BIETHNIC AND TRIETHNIC CHILDREN'S BLOOD PRESSURE STUDIES.
January 1, 2001... This (University of Texas) study develops normative blood pressure (BP) data for African-American children and adolescents, and combines the data with data from a previous study in order to acquire normative BP data for three ethnic groups:...

ADOLESCENT HEALTH CHARTBOOK.
January 1, 2001... This extensive (National Center for Health Statistics) publication is a part of "Health, United States, 2000," the 24th report on the health status of the nation. It presents national trends in health statistics, with the major findings...

MODELING THE CARDIOVASCULAR RESPONSE TO WEIGHTLESSNESS.
January 1, 2001... This (NASA) study investigates the cardiovascular responses to: changes in intraventricular hydrostatic pressure; intravascular hydrostatic pressure; and to a limited extent, extravascular and pedcardial hydrostatic pressure. A complete...

HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA'S EFFECT ON CUTANEOUS VASCULAR RESPONSES IN HEALTHY, EXERCISE-TRAINED, HEA-ACCLIMATED PEOPLE.
January 1, 2001... This (Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine) research determines whether healthy exercise-trained heat-acclimated people with one major risk factor for coronary artery disease (high total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein...

PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY AND THE QUANTIFICATION OF HUMAN STRESS LEVELS BASED UPON SECOND-LAW THERMODYNAMIC MODELING.
January 1, 2001... This (Old Dominion University) report develops a novel approach, based on the second law of thermodynamics, to investigate the psychophysiology and quantify human stress level. Two types of stresses (thermal and mental) are examined. A...

DNA-INDUCED DEATH OF NEURONAL CELLS.
January 1, 2001... This (University of Oregon) report proposes experiments to examine the molecular mechanism by which mustard chemical warfare agents induce neuronal cell death. DNA damage is the proposed underlying mechanism of mustard-induced neuronal cell...

COMPARATIVE INTERVENTIONS FOR ADULT PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS: A HANDBOOK.
January 1, 2001... This is a revised edition of a well-regarded text and reference (by Grove and Bellack) on the treatment of psychological disorders in adults. It examines the three major therapeutic approaches (psychodynamic, behavioral, and pharmacological)...

COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE, STRESS, AND BRAIN FUNCTION: REQUIREMENTS FOR AMINO ACIDS AND PROTEINS.
January 1, 2001... This (Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine) publication focuses on amino acid and protein requirements for brain function. A particular focus is the possibility that central demands for amino acids may modify nutritional...

IN VITRO SCREENING MODELS OF MOTOR-NEURON DEGENERATION: ANTI-EXCITOTOXIC AND ANTIOXIDANT TGF-BETA FAMILY NEUROTROPHIC FACTORS.
January 1, 2001... TGF beta-like trophic factors have been shown to be protective in acute neuronal injury paradigms. This (Johns Hopkins University) study analyzes and compares members of this growing family -- including: GDNF; neurturin; nodal; persephin; and...

CIRCADIAN RHYTHM ENTRAINMENT: NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS.
January 1, 2001... This report from Canada (Dalhousie University) details a program investigating neurotransmitters, which play a role in conveying light information to the circadian clock in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SON). It studies the effects on SON cell...

COGNITIVE CHANGES IN PRESYMPTOMATIC PARKINSON'S DISEASE.
January 1, 2001... This (University of Florida) paper addresses cognitive changes in presymptomatic Parkinson's Disease (PD). Patients do not typically develop PD until they lose approximately 7O% of their dopaminergic neurons. This neural degeneration...

PATHOGENESIS AND TREATMENT OF PARKINSON'S DISEASE: GENE TRANSFER STUDIES.
January 1, 2001... The overall aim of this (University of Pittsburgh) research is to use a recombinant multiply-deleted genomic herpes simplex virus type-i, HSV-i-based gene- transfer vector, to test the hypotheses that gene transfer of the glial-derived...

PROGRAM FOR THE PREVENTION OF OVARIAN CANCER.
January 1, 2001... The goals of this (Fox Chase Cancer Center) research are to develop interdisciplinary studies of the etiology, biology, and prevention of ovarian cancer. Three projects make up this program. Project 1: Ovarian Cancer Consortium for Research...

NOVEL TECHNOLOGIES TO IDENTIFY AND INVESTIGATE MOLECULAR MARKERS TO SCREEN AND PREVENT OVARIAN CANCER.
January 1, 2001... This (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center) research concerns ovarian-cancer-related gene discovery. It identifies novel genes that encode proteins potentially useful to detect ovarian cancer before it spreads outside the ovary and becomes...

BIOLOGICAL BASIS FOR THE CHEMOPREVENTION OF OVARIAN CANCER.
January 1, 2001... Since reduction of ovulation is protective against ovarian cancer, prevention may represent a feasible approach to decreasing mortality. To achieve a better understanding of the etiology of ovarian cancer, which will translate into more...

GENES IN FRA16D AND FRA7G MUTATED PROSTATE CANCER.
January 1, 2001... Chromosomal fragile sites are regions that show non-random breakage when cells are exposed to specific chemical conditions. Common fragile sites are present in all individuals, and the majority are inducible by the DNA polymerase inhibitor...

EPITHELIAL STROMAL INTERACTIONS DURING BREAST DEVELOPMENT: THE ROLE OF PARATHYROID HORMONE-RELATED PROTEIN (PTHrP).
January 1, 2001... These (Yale University School of Medicine) studies demonstrate that parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) is necessary for mammary gland development. The studies suggest that PTHrP is involved in regulating epithelial-stromal...

ENVIRONMENTAL ESTROGEN EFFECTS IN NORMAL AND CANCEROUS BREAST EPITHELIAL CELLS.
January 1, 2001... This (Tulane University Medical Center) study uses MCF-7 cells to examine the effects of estrogens and environmental estrogens on TNF-induced apoptosis. 17-p-estradiol,o,p'DDT, and alachlor, are shown to suppress apoptosis in MCF-7 cells and...

STUDY OF AN ESTROGEN RECEPTOR (ER) VARIANT IDENTIFIED FROM BREAST HYPERPLASIAS.
January 1, 2001... These (University of Texas) studies show that elevated expression levels of estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) in benign breast epithelium is a risk factor for progression to invasive breast cancer. A variant form of the ERalpha is isolated...

MECHANISMS OF BREAST-CANCER-INDUCED OSTEOLYSIS.
January 1, 2001... To determine if some malignant cells serve an accessory function and promote osteoclast differentiation, this (Barnes Hospital) study cultures T47D human breast cancer cells with murine osteoclast precursors. It finds bone-resorbing...

ROLE OF Bcl-2 IN THE REGULATION OF APOPTOSIS MEDIATED BY REMODELING AND EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX (ECM) TURNOVER.
January 1, 2001... Bcl-2 is a potent inhibitor of apoptosis induced by a variety of insults. Bcl-2 is highly expressed in breast cancer, and its expression is related to chemotherapy and radiation therapy resistance. Recent studies suggest that ECM plays a...

ROLE OF Cripto-i IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MAMMARY GLAND AND IN CARCINOGENESIS.
January 1, 2001... The purpose of this study is to evaluate the role of the growth factor Cripto-i (CR-i) in mammary development and carcinogenesis. The work discovers that alteration of CR-i levels affects colony formation of +SA cells. Two additional...

STABILITY OF BETA-CATENIN IN BREAST CANCER.
January 1, 2001... Beta-catenin is a multifunctional protein that participates in cadherin-mediated cell-cell adhesion, and in transduction of the Wnt growth factor signal that regulates development. At elevated cytoplasmic levels, beta-catenin interacts with...

EFFECT OF ESTROGEN ON THE PROLIFERATION-PROGRESSION OF HUMAN BREAST CANCER DISEASE IN A XENOGRAFT MODEL.
January 1, 2001... Utilizing the T24-Ha-ras transfected MCFlOA xenograft model of early human breast cancer progression, this (Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute) work: (1) demonstrates the effects of tamoxifen on growth and sequence of progression of human...

BREAST CANCER HORMONE RESISTANCE AND PROGESTERONE RECEPTORS.
January 1, 2001... The goal of this (University of Colorado) research is to understand how breast cancers become resistant to hormone treatments. Study targets are: the hormones, estradiol, and progesterone; their antagonists, tamoxifen and RU486; and the...

MECHANISM OF AROMATIC HYDROCARBON-INDUCED MAMMARY TUMORIGENESIS.
January 1, 2001... Recent evidence suggests that the rise in breast cancer rates reflects increased exposure to, and bioaccumulation of, environmental pollutants, such as 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA). Female Sprague-Dawley rats treated with DMBA...

CLONING COMPONENTS OF HUMAN TELOMERASE.
January 1, 2001... Telomerase is an enzyme needed to maintain telomeres, and is therefore needed for the indefinite growth of cancer cells. An anti-telomerase drug might therefore be a good anti-tumor agent. To help in finding such drugs, this (Cold Spring...

COURSE ON THE UTILIZATION OF PUBLIC HEALTH DATA INVOLVING THE LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH, TEEN PREGNANCY, SMOKING AND HEALTH.
January 1, 2001... The goal of this (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) course is to improve the ability of public health professionals to understand and use data routinely in their jobs. The course is intended primarily for health practitioners...

A FRAMEWORK FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE SURVEILLANCE.
January 1, 2001... This (GAO) report addresses a framework for infectious disease surveillance. In its simplest terms, public health experts define disease surveillance as the generation of `information for action.' Infectious disease surveillance provides...

BIOMECHANICAL PROJECTILE-IMPACT ANALYSIS MODEL OF THE HUMAN THORAX.
January 1, 2001... This (Naval Postgraduate School) thesis studies the biomechanical response of a finite-element model of the human thorax, and a protective body armor system, under impact loading from a projectile. The objective of the study is to create a...

MEDICAL SUPPLY REQUIREMENTS FOR A HIGHLY MOBILE FORWARD RESUSCITATIVE SURGERY SYSTEM (FRSS).
January 1, 2001... This (Naval Health Research Center) report addresses the medical supply requirements for a highly mobile forward resuscitative surgical system (FRSS). For every casualty that dies of wounds in a hospital, nine have died prior to arriving. The...

WORLDWIDE EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES.
January 1, 2001... This (National Center for Infectious Diseases publication tracks trends and analyzes new and reemerging infectious disease issues around the world. Its partial contents includes: Population-Based Study of Invasive Kingella kingae Infections;...

EFFECTS ON SERUM LIPID LEVELS AND METABOLISM OF DIETS HIGH IN PALMITOLEIC ACID.
January 1, 2001... This (University of Hawaii) publication reports on a randomized crossover feeding trial with a high monounsaturated fat diet (HIMUFA) based on macadamia nuts and oil, and a typical American diet high in saturated fat (HISAT), conducted on 27...