An annotated catalog of inverted repeats of Caenorhabditis elegans chromosomes III and X, with observations concerning odd/even biases and conserved motifs

We have taken a computational approach to the problem of discovering and deciphering the grammar and syntax of gene regulation in eukaryotes. A logical first step is to produce an annotated catalog of all regulatory sites in a given genome. Likely candidates for such sites are direct and indirect repeats, including three subcategories of indirect repeats: inverted (palindromic), everted, and mirror-image repeats. To that end we have produced a searchable database of inverted repeats of chromosomes III and X of Caenorhabditis elegans, the first completely sequenced multicellular eukaryote. Initial results from the use of this catalog are observations concerning odd/even biases in perfect IRs. The potential usefulness of the catalog as a discovery tool for promoters was shown for some of the genes involved with G-protein functions and for heat shock protein 104 (hsp104).     

Dietary factors in oral leukoplakia and submucous fibrosis in a population-based case control study in Gujarat, India

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the relationship of specific nutrients and food items with oral precancerous lesions among tobacco users.
DESIGN: A population-based case-control study. SETTING: Villages in Palitana taluk of Bhavnagar district, Gujarat, India.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS: An interviewer-administered food frequency questionnaire, developed and validated for this population, was used to estimate nutrient intake in blinded, house-to-house interviews. Among 5018 male tobacco users, 318 were diagnosed as cases. An equal number of controls matched on age (±5 years), sex, village, and use of tobacco were selected.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Odds ratios (OR) from multiple logistic regression analysis controlling for relevant variables (type of tobacco use and economic status).
RESULTS: A protective effect of fibre was observed for both oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) and leukoplakia, with 10% reduction in risk per g day^-1 ( P < 0.05). Ascorbic acid appeared to be protective against leukoplakia with the halving of risk in the two highest quartiles of intake (versus the lowest quartile: OR = 0.46 and 0.44, respectively; P < 0.10). A protective effect of tomato consumption was observed in leukoplakia and a suggestion of a protective effect of wheat in OSF.
CONCLUSION: In addition to tobacco use, intake of specific nutrients may have a role in the development of oral precancerous lesions.     

Preparation and properties of brush-border membrane vesicles from human small intestine

This study describes a simple and rapid method for the preparation of brush-border membrane vesicles from intestinal biopsies. The specific activities of sucrase, amino peptidase N, and alkaline phosphatase in these vesicles were the same as those in vesicles prepared from intestinal segments. The vesicles from all the regions of the small intestine can transport D-glucose in an Na+-dependent manner. The rates of transport of D-glucose presented here are far higher than previously reported. The method should have a wide applicability to studies of transport mechanisms and the distribution of transport processes within the intestine.     

Treatment of refractoriness to platelet transfusion by protein A column therapy

Ten thrombocytopenic patients (platelets < 10–24 × 10(9)/L) who were refractory to platelet transfusion were investigated for their responsiveness to staphylococcal protein A column therapy. Nine patients had previously been treated with steroids, intravenous immune globulin, and/or other forms of immunosuppressive therapy without improvement in their transfusion response. All patients were receiving multiple platelet transfusions without achieving 1-hour corrected count increments (CCIs) > or = 7500. Eight patients had antibodies that reacted with platelets and were directed against HLA class I antigens, ABO antigens, and/or platelet-specific alloantigens. Plasma (500-2000 mL) from each patient was passed over a protein A silica gel column and then returned to the patient. Patients received from 1 to 14 treatments. A positive response to protein A therapy was defined as at least a doubling of the pretreatment platelet count and/or two successive 10- to 120-minute posttransfusion CCIs > or = 7500. Following plasma treatments, 6 of 10 patients responded with daily platelet counts that averaged 48 +/− 11 × 10(9) per L as compared with counts of 16 +/− 7 × 10(9) per L (p < 0.0005) before treatment. Posttransfusion CCI values determined in four of these patients averaged 2480 +/− 810 and 10,010 +/− 3540 (p < 0.005) before and after treatment, respectively. In contrast, among the four unresponsive patients, platelet counts averaged 10 +/− 9 and 13 +/− 10 × 10(9) per L (p = NS), respectively, while posttransfusion CCIs were 700 +/− 1410 and 1520 +/− 2460 (p = NS), respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Transfusion-associated graft-versus-host disease in immunocompetent patients: report of a fatal case associated with transfusion of blood from a second-degree relative, and a survey of predisposing factors

A patient without evident immune deficiency who received a transfusion of blood from a second-degree family member developed fatal transfusion- associated graft-versus-host disease (TA-GVHD). The donor was homozygous for an HLA haplotype for which the recipient was heterozygous (one-way HLA match). All 39 reported cases of TA-GVHD in immunocompetent patients were reviewed to ascertain the predisposing factors and to define the indications for irradiating blood for this population. HLA typing was described in 15 cases; in 13, including seven related and six unrelated donors, a one-way HLA match was present. Thirty-one (79%) of the 39 cases were reported from Japan (and 196 other cases are cited in the Japanese literature), but a one-way HLA match among unrelated donors at HLA-A, -B, -DR loci is only approximately two to four times more likely in Japanese persons than in whites. Fresh blood (< 96 hours old) was used in 29 (94%) of the 31 cases reported from Japan and in 33 (87%) of 38 cases overall (in one case, the age of the blood used was not reported). Thus, factors that appear to predispose to TA-GVHD in immunocompetent patients are a one- way HLA match, fresh blood, and, possibly, Japanese ancestry. Irradiating cellular blood components from all blood relatives of transfusion recipients will not completely eliminate the risk of TA- GVHD.     

Establishment of erythropoiesis following bone marrow transplantation in a patient with congenital hypoplastic anemia (Diamond-Blackfan syndrome)

Marrow transplantation was attempted in a 13-yr-old boy with congenital hypoplastic anemia who had never responded to corticosteroid therapy. Prior to the transplant, he had received 238 transfusions, at least 12 of which were from his father. He was prepared for grafting with antilymphocyte globulin, procarbazine, and total body irradiation (1000 rads). The patient, whose red cells were Group B, then received marrow cells from his Group O, histocompatible, sister. Thereafter, reticulocytes, Group O erythrocytes, and female leukocytes appeared in the peripheral blood. Erythroid precursors were seen in the patient's marrow for the first time in his life, and all lacked fluorescent Y chromosomes. Dividing cells were all female. After initially progressing well, the patient developed interstitial pneumonia and died 55 days after the transplant. The successful erythroid graft suggested that this patient's failure to produce red blood cells was due to a defective stem cell rather than to a humoral defect, plasma inhibitor, or abnormal marrow microenvironment. It suggested further that sibling marrow may be engrafted in patients who have received multiple transfusions, even from a parent.     

Angiomyolipoma arising in the renal sinus: A difficult radiologic diagnosis

We report a case of angiomyolipoma (AML) occurring in the renal sinus evaluated by intravenous urography (IVU), renal ultrasound (US), angiography, and computed tomography (CT). Imaging features of this lesion are identical to AMLs elsewhere, but preoperative diagnosis was complicated by the unusual occurrence of the tumor in this location in a patient with abdominal pain. Accurate preoperative diagnosis will allow tumorectomy or conservative management.     

Segmental intestinal muscular thinning: a possible cause of intestinal obstruction in the newborn

Intestinal obstruction proximal to a transition zone without an interposed physical barrier usually indicates Hirschsprung disease. The authors report one case of focal small bowel muscular thinning just distal to a transition zone that produced clinical and radiographic findings that simulated long-segment Hirschsprung disease in a 2-day-old infant.     

Rheumatoid elbow

The elbow is often involved in the progression of rheumatoid arthritis. Because of the elbow's unique role in maneuvering and positioning the hand in space, loss of normal elbow motion, loss of stability, or increased pain with the use of the elbow are all significant sources of impairment in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The improvements in disease-modifying medications have greatly diminished the prevalence of severe elbow degeneration among patients with rheumatoid arthritis. However, it hasn't been eliminated. In this article the authors discuss strategies for managing it.