General approach to the development of artificial blood-circulating equipment

All-Russian Scientific-Research Institute for Medical Instrument Engineering, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Moscow. Manufacturing Association Korpus, Saratov. Translated from Meditsinskaya Tekhnika, No. 3, pp. 10–12, May–June, 1994.     

Health-related quality of life in adults reporting arthritis: analysis from the National Health Measurement Study

Background  

Arthritis is the leading cause of disability in the United States. We assess the generic health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL) among a nationally representative sample of US adults with and without self-reported arthritis.     

Nuclear localization of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 integrase expressed as a fusion protein with green fluorescent protein.

Lentiviruses in general and the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) in particular have the ability to integrate their genome stably into the chromosome of nondividing cells. Integration of HIV cDNA is mediated by the viral integrase (IN). Apart from its catalytic activity, this enzyme seems to play an important role in the transport of the HIV preintegration complex into the nucleus of nondividing cells. We studied the karyophilic properties of IN by constructing an N-terminal fusion protein of HIV-1 integrase and green fluorescent protein (GFP-IN). Transient expression of GFP-IN in various mammalian cell lines was demonstrated by fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, and Western blotting. Although wild-type GFP was localized throughout the cell, GFP-IN was localized predominantly in the nucleus. Nuclear localization of GFP-IN was also obtained after transient transfection of the cells arrested in the G1/S phase of the cell cycle. These results provide compelling evidence for the karyophilic properties of the HIV-1 integrase.     

Maternal core beliefs and children's feeding problems

BACKGROUND: Although maternal mental health problems have been implicated in the exacerbation of childhood feeding difficulties, little research has assessed the contribution of broader maternal cognitions to these problems. The current study examined gender differences in the relationships between mothers' core beliefs and children's feeding problems. METHODS: One hundred and three mothers of girls and 93 mothers of boys (age range, 7-64 months) completed the Young Schema Questionnaire and the Child Feeding Assessment Questionnaire. RESULTS: While controlling for child age, a clear link between maternal core beliefs and perceived feeding difficulties emerged for mothers of girls. In particular, abandonment, failure to achieve, dependence and incompetence, enmeshment and defectiveness, and shame beliefs were associated with increased reports of feeding problems in girls. In contrast, emotional deprivation and subjugation beliefs were associated with maternal reports of food fussiness and food refusal in boys. CONCLUSIONS: There appears to be a clear role for maternal core beliefs in the reporting of feeding difficulties in children, and the specificity of these links differs depending on the gender of the child. Further research is required to establish the direction of causality and the specificity of these relationships.     

US norms for six generic health-related quality-of-life indexes from the National Health Measurement study

BACKGROUND: A number of indexes measuring self-reported generic health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) using preference-weighted scoring are used widely in population surveys and clinical studies in the United States. OBJECTIVE: To obtain age-by-gender norms for older adults on 6 generic HRQoL indexes in a cross-sectional US population survey and compare age-related trends in HRQoL. METHODS: The EuroQol EQ-5D, Health Utilities Index Mark 2, Health Utilities Index Mark 3, SF-36v2 (used to compute SF-6D), Quality of Well-being Scale self-administered form, and Health and Activities Limitations index were administered via telephone interview to each respondent in a national survey sample of 3844 noninstitutionalized adults age 35-89. Persons age 65-89 and telephone exchanges with high percentages of African Americans were oversampled. Age-by-gender means were computed using sampling and poststratification weights to adjust results to the US adult population. RESULTS: The 6 indexes exhibit similar patterns of age-related HRQoL by gender; however, means differ significantly across indexes. Females report slightly lower HRQoL than do males across all age groups. HRQoL seems somewhat higher for persons age 65-74 compared with people in the next younger age decade, as measured by all indexes. CONCLUSIONS: Six HRQoL measures show similar but not identical trends in population norms for older US adults. Results reported here provide reference values for 6 self-reported HRQoL indexes.     

Managing anorexia nervosa

Clinical confidence and coordinated multidisciplinary care can influence the course of anorexia nervosa in children and adolescents. Sicker and younger patients with anorexia nervosa often present first to a paediatrician, requiring early recognition and appropriate management. Paediatric knowledge and skills are also needed to manage the impact of eating disorders on growth and development. This review provides practical guidance on the management of anorexia nervosa for paediatricians, in the areas of assessment, acute management and re-feeding, and long-term monitoring. In the absence of a strong evidence base for some of these recommendations, local protocols based on best practice guidelines can reduce anxiety, increase cooperation and reduce risk.