Life Sciences & Biotechnology Update articles from July 2000

Life Sciences & Biotechnology Update archives from July 2000

BIOLOGIC EFFECTS OF HER-2/NEU GENE OVEREXPRESSION AND AGONISTS AND ANTAGONISTS TO THE RECEPTOR IN HUMAN BREAST CANCER.
July 1, 2000... This (University of California) study concerns the biologic effects of HER-2/neu gene overexpression and agonists and antagonists to the receptor in human breast cancer. Alteration of the HER-2/neu gene has been shown to correlate with poor...

COMPUTER-AIDED DIAGNOSIS OF BREAST CANCER.
July 1, 2000... The long range goal of this (Duke University) project is to improve the accuracy and consistency of breast cancer diagnosis by developing a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system for early prediction of breast cancer from patients' mammographic...

SIGNAL ENHANCEMENT RATIOS (SERs) IN BREAST CARCINOMAS MEASURED BY 3-D CONTRAST-MRI AND VERIFIED BY HISTOPATHOLOGY.
July 1, 2000... This (University of California) work in breast MRI focuses on an imaging technique and analysis method directed toward defining the extent of malignant lesions in patients with confirmed breast carcinoma. It develops a 3-point contrast-MRI...

RESPONSE MECHANISMS TO OZONE EXPOSURE.
July 1, 2000... Ozone (O3) induces lung inflammation, permeability, and epithelial injury in upper and lower airways. This (Johns Hopkins University) study tests the hypothesis that mast-cells mediate airway injury induced by O3 exposure, by comparing...

REVERSAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL NEUROTOXIN-CAUSED MITOCHONDRIAL DAMAGE.
July 1, 2000... The basic premise of this (Mount Sinai School of Medicine) research is that the turnover of dopamine (DA) or other monamines by monoamine oxidase (MAO) can place on oxidative stress on electron transport and respiration of mitochondria. In...

POTENTIAL HEALTH EFFECTS OF ATMOSPHERIC REACTION PRODUCTS OF POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS.
July 1, 2000... This (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory) study utilizes human-cell assays to evaluate the genotoxicity of naphthalene, phenanthrene, and their atmospheric reaction products: 1-nitronaphthalene; 2-nitronaphthalene (2NN); 2-hydroxy-2NN;...

DAILY CHANGES IN BLOOD OXYGEN SATURATION AND PULSE RATE ASSOCIATED WITH PARTICULATE AIR POLLUTION AND BAROMETRIC PRESSURE FLUCTUATIONS.
July 1, 2000... Epidemiology studies have linked fine-particulate air pollution with cardiopulmonary mortality and morbidity. Although the underlying biological mechanisms remain largely unknown, the results of several studies suggest that respiratory and...

ETHICAL ISSUES AND POLICY GUIDANCE FOR RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS.
July 1, 2000... This (National Bioethics Advisory Commission) report addresses ethical and policy guidance issues for research involving human biological materials. Its contents are as follows: Letter of Transmittal to the President; National Bioethics...

EFFECTS OF ORBITAL SPACEFLIGHT ON HUMAN OSTEOBLASTIC CELL PHYSIOLOGY AND GENE EXPRESSION.
July 1, 2000... The purpose of this (NASA) proposed study is to establish whether changes in gravitational loading have a direct effect on osteoblasts, to regulate TGF-6 expression. The effects of spaceflight and reloading on TGF-B MRNA and peptide levels...

DRUG-ABUSE EPIDEMIOLOGICAL TRENDS.
July 1, 2000... This (National Institute on Drug Abuse) publication focuses on the Community Epidemiology Work Group (CEWG), which is a network composed of researchers from 21 major metropolitan areas of the U.S. and selected foreign countries. The group...

BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING SEMINAR.
July 1, 2000... This translation from Finland (Helsinki University of Technology) presents details of a biomedical engineering seminar. Its contents follows: Non-Invasive Blood Pressure Measurements; Method for Studying Membrane Transport; Photodynamic...

WORKSHOP ON BRAIN SCIENCE RESEARCH, COGNITIVE, AND BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE.
July 1, 2000... This translation from Korea (Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) presents the proceedings of a joint Korea-U.S. workshop on brain science research, cognitive, and behavioral neuroscience. The topics covered include: Temporary...

IMPROVING VACCINATION COVERAGE FOR VACCINE-PREVENTABLE DISEASES.
July 1, 2000... The delivery and acceptance of recommended vaccinations is an ongoing challenge for health-care providers and health-care and public health systems. Specific interventions can increase levels of vaccination coverage. This (Centers for Disease...

ACTIVE OR PASSIVE IMMUNIZATION TO PREVENT HEPATITIS A.
July 1, 2000... This (CDC) report updates the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIPs) 1996 recommendations on the prevention of hepatitis A through immunization. It also includes: (1) new data about the epidemiology of hepatitis A; (2) recent...

COMBINATION VACCINES FOR CHILDHOOD IMMUNIZATION.
July 1, 2000... This (CDC) report addresses combination vaccines being used for childhood immunization. An increasing number of new and improved vaccines to prevent childhood diseases are being introduced. Combination vaccines represent one solution to the...

GUIDELINES FOR HIV CASE SURVEILLANCE: MONITORING FOR HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS INFECTION AND ACQUIRED IMMUNODEFICIENCY SYNDROME.
July 1, 2000... This (CDC) report recommends that all states and territories conduct case surveillance for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, as an extension of current acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) surveillance activities. The...

DETERMINATION OF URINARY METABOLITES OF BENZENE IN HUMANS, USING LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY, ELECTROSPRAY IONIZATION, AND TANDEM MASS SPECTROMETRY METHODS.
July 1, 2000... Occupational exposure to benzene is associated with the development of leukemia and other blood disorders; however, the effects of exposure to low levels of benzene are not well understood. In 1994, the Health Effects Institute (HEI)...

PULSE-COUPLED NEURAL NETWORKS FOR MEDICAL IMAGING AND INFORMATION PROCESSING.
July 1, 2000... This (Sy Technology Inc.) report addresses pulse- coupled neural networks (PCNN), which have been extended and modified to suit medical image segmentation applications. Previous research demonstrated the ability of a PCNN to ignore noisy...

A REAL-TIME 3-D ULTRASOUND SYSTEM FOR PHYSIOLOGICAL MONITORING AND TELEMEDICINE.
July 1, 2000... This (Battelle Pacific North West Laboratories) report documents the 4th and 5th years of an ongoing project to develop a prototype 3-D ultrasound telemedicine imaging system. During the first year of the reporting period (FY98), development...

DIETARY STRATEGY TO MAXIMIZE BONE MASS.
July 1, 2000... The overall objective of this (FDA) research is to develop dietary methods to increase bone mass in young men and women, in order to reduce the incidence of stress fractures during physical training and the incidence of osteoporotic fracture...

FDA'S POSITION REGARDING COMMERCIALLY-PRODUCED FIBRIN SEALANTS MADE IN THE U.S.
July 1, 2000... This (FDA) paper concerns commercially-produced fibrin sealants composed of purified, virus- inactivated/removed human fibrinogen and human or bovine thrombin, with or without added components such as virus-inactivated/removed human factor...

SURVEY OF ASSISTED-REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGY WITH RESPECT TO EMBRYO LABORATORY PROCEDURES AND PRACTICES.
July 1, 2000... On Oct. 24, 1992, Congress passed Public Law 102-493 entitled the "Fertility Clinic Success Rate and Certification Act of 1992." In accordance with this statute, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is developing a model...

ELDER ABUSE AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: PERSECUTION AND PROTECTION.
July 1, 2000... This (National Center on Elder Abuse) manual is designed to demystify the criminal justice system for health and social service professionals who work with the elderly, and to encourage them to participate more fully in the criminal justice...

GENETIC ALGORITHMS FOR COMPUTER-AIDED DIAGNOSIS.
July 1, 2000... Computer-aided diagnosis has the potential of substantially increasing diagnostic accuracy in mammography. Using a computer to double-check a radiologist's findings is becoming more popular and more important as the public learns that the...