Life Sciences & Biotechnology Update articles from June 1999

Life Sciences & Biotechnology Update archives from June 1999

ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN REDUCING HEALTH-CARE COSTS.
June 1, 1999... This (Sandia National Laboratories) study applies a systems approach to identifying innovative biomedical technologies having the potential to reduce U.S. health-care delivery costs while maintaining care quality. The study is conducted by...

TELEMED, A DISTRIBUTED TELEMEDICINE INFRASTRUCTURE.
June 1, 1999... This (Los Alamos National Laboratory) paper addresses TeleMed, which is an advanced system that provides a distributed multimedia electronic medical record available over a wide-area network. It uses object-based computing, distributed data...

ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMANS.
June 1, 1999... This report from Canada (Medical Research Council of Canada) addresses a code that has been written to help researchers, members of research ethics boards (REBs), and administrators of institutions, to develop and maintain the highest...

DETERMINANT OF RADON DOSE TO CRITICAL CELLS OF THE RESPIRATORY TRACT.
June 1, 1999... This (DOE) research is directed towards the reduction of uncertainties in evaluating the health risks to people from exposure to short-lived radon progeny. The work has produced a unique and important body of data on the deposition of...

STUDY OF THE ROLE OF DENDRITIC CELLS IN IMMUNE DYSFUNCTION.
June 1, 1999... The specific aims of this (University of Texas Medical School) program includes: (1) application of a bioreactor to enhance cytokine-regulated proliferation and maturation of dendritic cells (DC); (2) comparing (based on clues from...

USING A MICROGRAVITY BIOREACTOR TO DIFFERENTIATE AND GROW HUMAN VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL CELLS.
June 1, 1999... The goal of this (Baylor College of Medicine) research is to delineate the mechanisms of genetic responses to angiogenic stimulation of human coronary arterial and dermal microvascular endothelial cells during exposure to microgravity. A...

A SINGLE PROTEIN HAVING THREE QUATERNARY STRUCTURES.
June 1, 1999... This (Argonne National Laboratory) study, for the first time, solves the structure of a multi-subunit protein (immunoglobulin light chain) in three crystal forms, differing only in the pH and ionic strength of the solvent of crystallization....

GUIDELINES TO PREVENT THE TRANSMISSION OF TUBERCULOSIS IN INSTITUTIONAL SETTINGS.
June 1, 1999... This publication from Canada (Alberta Health) outlines the key factors to be considered in developing effective regional tuberculosis (TB) management programs in Alberta. Sections of the publication recommend procedures related to the...

THE COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF PREVENTING COMPLICATIONS FROM AIDS.
June 1, 1999... Multiple options are now available for prophylaxis of AIDS-related opportunistic infections. This (Boston University Medical Center) study has the goal to determine the clinical impact, cost, and cost- effectiveness of strategies for...

CANCER TREATMENT USING LIGHT-ION ACCELERATORS.
June 1, 1999... This (Brookhaven National Laboratory) review addresses several issues regarding the use of light-ion accelerators in cancer treatment: (1) the possible advantages of light-ion therapy compared to protons and conventional radiation; (2) the...

TRACE ELEMENTS IN HUMAN NUTRITION AND BODILY FUNCTIONS.
June 1, 1999... This report from Canada (National Research Council Canada) presents a compilation of papers from an international meeting of specialists from a variety of disciplines sharing an interest in trace elements. The papers are organized into broad...

BUILDING HEALTHY BABIES: PRENATAL NUTRITION IN FIRST- NATIONS COMMUNITIES.
June 1, 1999... This 2-volume resource-report from Canada (Health Canada) presents essential information on prenatal nutrition in a practical format; in a context relevant to First Nations communities. Each section contains: a key message summarizing the...

INTERNATIONAL HARMONIZATION OF TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS FOR THE REGISTRATION OF PHARMACEUTICALS FOR HUMAN USE.
June 1, 1999... This guideline-report from Canada (Therapeutic Products Directorate) addresses international harmonization of technical requirements for the registration of pharmaceuticals for human use. Good clinical practice (GCP) is an international...

USING MEMBRANE PROBES TO MONITOR PHYSIOLOGICAL VARIABLES.
June 1, 1999... This (Bioanalytical Systems Inc.) project demonstrates the possibility of using membrane probes in rodents to monitor physiological variables for extended periods of time. The utility of these probes in physiological studies of microgravity...

USING CAPILLARY ELECTROPHORESIS TO EVALUATE COMMERCIAL DNA SIZES.
June 1, 1999... This (NIST) research uses capillary electrophoresis to evaluate commercial DNA size standards, and finds that it can provide an efficient assessment of size. The measurements yield preliminary information to be used in the evaluation of DNA...

USING MOLECULAR DYNAMICS SIMULATIONS TO PROBE THE HYDROPHOBIC HYDRATION OF HYDROCARBONS.
June 1, 1999... This brief (NIST) paper concerns probing the hydrophobic hydration of a series of hydrocarbons using molecular dynamics simulations. The solutes that are considered range from methane to octane. Examination of the shapes of the hydration...

USING ANABOLIC VITAMIN D ANALOGS AS COUNTERMEASURES TO BONE LOSS.
June 1, 1999... This (University of Texas Medical School) report demonstrates, for the first time, that vitamin D3 influences the effect of PTH on bone cell calcium ion levels. This is a rapid effect, taking place within seconds/minutes. This may prove to...

NON-COLLAGENOUS BONE PROTEINS: STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION.
June 1, 1999... This brief (Texas A&M University) research-report represents the first phase of an ongoing program to define the structural and functional relationships of the principal noncollagenous proteins in bone. An ultimate goal of this research is to...

AN ORTHOSIS FOR JOINT CONTRACTURE.
June 1, 1999... This (Texas Woman's University) project has the goal to develop an advanced orthosis that is effective in reducing upper and lower limb contractures in significantly less time than currently required with conventional methods. The team that...

STRUCTURAL STUDIES OF CHROMATIN AND CHROMOSOMES.
June 1, 1999... This brief (University of California) study focuses on the following: (1) the structure of chromatin and chromosomes by neutron and x-ray scatter and atomic force microscopy; (2) the architecture of human sperm and the structure of sperm by...

DEVELOPMENT OF A VACCINE FOR IMMUNOCASTRATION OF FARM ANIMALS.
June 1, 1999... This brief report from Canada (Biostar Inc.) presents interim results from an ongoing immunocastration research program. The work focuses on: evaluation of antigens; testing adjuvants to identify an optimal formulation for the proposed...

CHARACTERIZATION OF BREAST CANCER CELL DEATH INDUCED BY INTERFERONS AND RETINOIDS.
June 1, 1999... This (University of Maryland) report calls attention to previously observed results showing that a combination of human interferon-beta (IFN) and all-trans retinoic acid (RA) induces superior growth-inhibitory-responses in several human tumor...

WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER: RELATIONSHIP OF EXERCISE TO CANCER-TREATMENT-RELATED FATIGUE AND QUALITY OF LIFE.
June 1, 1999... Cancer-treatment-related fatigue is recognized as a significant and long-lasting problem that affects patients, both physically and emotionally, and influences their treatment decisions and long-term recovery. This (University of Utah) study...

USING DOPPLER ULTRASOUND IMAGING FOR MEASURING MICROVESSEL DENSITY IN BREAST TUMORS.
June 1, 1999... This (University of Pennsylvania) report concerns the belief that ultrasound imaging, which allows direct visualization of blood vessels, will permit measurement of microvessel density in breast tumors. The purpose of the reported study is to...

STUDY OF BREAST CANCER VACCINES BASED ON DENDRITIC CELLS AND CHEMOKINES.
June 1, 1999... This (University of Michigan) project has the goal to establish a new modality for the treatment of breast cancer, employing a combination of chemokine gene- modified fibroblasts with breast tumor pulsed dendritic cells (DC), to both recruit...

USING ESTROGEN METABOLITES AS PROBES OF ESTROGEN- INDUCED TUMORIGENESIS.
June 1, 1999... Estrogens play a pivotal role in 50-60% of breast cancer cases among females. Estrogen metabolites have been implicated as mediators in the development of estrogen-induced tumors. The catechol estrogens are particularly interesting...

FUNCTIONS OF STEROID RECEPTORS IN VIVO IN BREAST CANCER.
June 1, 1999... This University of Virginia) report addresses the function of steroid receptors in vivo in breast cancer. Women with estrogen-receptor-positive breast tumors respond to adjuvant hormonal therapy with an enhancement of disease-free survival and...

EXPLORATION OF THE ROLES OF TGF-BETA AND COMPONENTS OF ITS SIGNALING PATHWAYS IN BREAST CARCINOGENESIS.
June 1, 1999... This (Duke University) research project explores the roles of TGF-beta, and components of its signaling pathways, in the initiation, progression, and metastasis of breast adenocarcinomas, through an investigation of the disregulation of...

THEORY OF PATHOGEN-TRANSMISSION-AVOIDANCE IN SEXUAL SELECTION.
June 1, 1999... This (Argonne National Laboratory) report addresses the pathogen-transmission-avoidance theory of sexual selection. The current theory that sexual selection results from female preference for males with good genes suffers from several...

USING RECORD-LINKAGE TO STUDY THE OUTCOMES OF DRUG THERAPY.
June 1, 1999... Adherence to medical therapy is crucial to obtaining the benefits of drug therapy. Adherence is difficult to measure, because it is a repeated usually unobservable behavior. Many factors probably influence adherence behavior. The effect of...