Circulating levels of placental protein 12 and chorionic gonadotrophin following RU 38486 and Gemeprost for termination of first trimester pregnancy

First trimester termination of pregnancy was successfully inducedin ten patients with RU 38486 followed 2 days later by a prostaglandin(Gemeprost) pessary. Human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) valuesremained unaltered until after the abortion. The levels of placentalprotein 12 (PP12) showed an immediate and significant fall followingRU 38486, then rose to values substantially higher than thoseat the initial visit after 2 days. These findings show thatRU 38486 has a direct inhibitory effect on tissues producingPP12 and confirm the progesterone dependency of this protein     

Time in Motion: Qualities of Temporality Within Psychotherapeutic Psychodynamic Counselling

Our relationship to time is both a developmental and a relational one; an inter- and intra-psychic experience. Exploring how the theories of Freud, Klein, Winnicott, and their successors offer explanations of how the psychoanalytic subject develops and sustains a concept of time and the factors that may hinder this, this essay suggests that different qualities of time, such as continuity, rhythm, repetition and interruption, can reveal themselves through the client's transferential and countertransferential relationship with the therapist. Using fictionalized clinical examples it explores how a bodily felt experience of time was thought about by the therapist/author using Laban movement analysis to support a client in ‘working through’ early material that felt stuck. The exploration of a client's perspective is brought in through the writings of the activist Passerini on her psychoanalytic treatment (cited by Baraitser in Enduring Time) and her experience of trauma's capacity to stop time. The essay also looks at how psychoanalytic ideas of temporality challenge the ‘recruiting’ of time by the wider culture to create more time-efficient late-capitalist subjects but by using ideas from movement studies and a Lacanian influenced time register it is suggested that cultural attacks on subjective experiences of temporality could be challenged within therapy. It is hoped the essay encourages the therapist to become alert to the manifestations of different temporal experiences within the therapeutic relationship and to develop a creative, embodied language with which to explore it with the client.     

Acute non-lymphocytic leukemia with t(16;21)

A patient with ANLL FAB subtype M1 was found to possess a t(16;21)(p11;q22) and trisomy 10. The 16;21 translocation has been reported in 12 other cases of ANLL, of various subtypes, and its relationship to the disease profile is discussed.     

Four new adenosine deaminase mutations,altering a zinc-binding histidine,two conserved alanines,and a 5′ splice site

Three new missense mutations (H15D, A83D, and A179D) and a new splicing defect (573 + 1G→A) in the 5′ splice site of intron 5 were among six mutant adenosine deaminase (ADA) alleles found in three unrelated patients with severe combined immunodeficiency disease, the most common phenotype associated with ADA deficiency. When expressed in vitro, the H15D, A83D, and A179D proteins lacked detectable ADA activity. The splicing defect caused skipping of exon 5, resulting in premature termination of translation and a reduced level of mRNA. H15D is the first naturally occurring mutation of a residue that coordinates directly with the enzyme-associated zinc ion. Molecular modeling based on the atomic coordinates of murine ADA suggests that the D15 mutation would create a cavity or gap between the zinc ion and the side chain carboxylate of D15. This could alter the ability of zinc to activate a water molecule postulated to play a role in the catalytic mechanism. A83 and A179 are not directly involved in the active site, but are conserved residues located respectively in a helix 4 and β strand 4 of the α/β barrel. Replacement of these small hydrophobic Ala residues with the charged, more bulky Asp side chain may distort ADA structure and affect enzyme stability or folding.© 1995 wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Modification of T-cell receptor Vbeta repertoire in response to allergen stimulation in peanut allergy

BACKGROUND: Peanut is one of the most common foods causing allergic reactions and is the most common cause of fatal and near-fatal food-related anaphylaxis. Little is known of the immunologic mechanisms that underlie peanut allergy. OBJECTIVES: In this study we examined clonality of the T-cell response (TCR) to peanut in MHC class II identical, peanut allergy-discordant sibling pairs. METHODS: Four sibling pairs were investigated. The TCR repertoire was analyzed before and after in vitro stimulation of PBMCs with crude peanut or PHA, as control for general/nonspecific reactivity. Eighteen TCR-Vbeta families were examined by flow cytometry. Where significant differences in incidence of particular TCR-Vbeta families were observed, PCR familyspecific cDNA amplification and gene scanning were performed. RESULTS: After stimulation with peanut, no selective expansion of any TCR-Vbeta subpopulation was observed with flow cytometry, in either the peanut-allergic or nonallergic siblings, with the exception of 1 peanut-allergic subject who demonstrated a significant increase of TCR-Vbeta11(+) cells (0.3%-5.9% of the total CD3(+) cells). However, gene scanning revealed predominant single-size PCR products for TCRBV11 in all peanut-allergic subjects after peanut stimulation. TCRBV11 polyclo-nality was observed in allergic and nonallergic subjects before peanut stimulation and in nonallergic subjects after peanut stimulation. In comparison, all subjects, before and after stimulation with peanut, showed polyclonality for TCRBV2. CONCLUSIONS: Our results argue for clonal or oligoclonal TCRs to crude peanut and indicate that changes in the TCRBV11 subpopulation are restricted to peanut-allergic subjects after stimulation with crude peanut allergen.     

A group-specific,indirect sandwich ELISA for the detection of equine encephalosis virus antigen

A polyclonal antibody-based, group-specific, indirect, sandwich ELISA (S-ELISA) for the detection of equine encephalosis virus (EEV) antigen was developed. Purified EEV particles were titrated in the S-ELISA and the limit of detection was determined to be approximately 9.0 ng of antigen/ml (0.45 ng/well). Positive S-ELISA reactions were recorded with seven serologically distinct EEV serotypes. No cross-reactions were recorded with other arboviruses including African horse sickness virus (AHSV) serotypes 1-9, bluetongue serotypes 1-24, epizootic haemorrhagic disease serotypes 1-8 and isolate 318, and selected isolates of Palyam, Eubenangee, Corriparta, Warrego, Akabane and bovine ephemeral fever viruses. The assay proved to be sensitive and specific for the rapid detection of EEV in cell cultures and in homogenated suckling mouse brain (MB). The data generated in this study suggest that the ELISA will be valuable for epidemiological studies of EE and will assist in making a reliable differential diagnosis between EEV and AHSV infections.