Significance of the lifestyle system to employee health and assistance

Data from a corporate-wide (N = 21, 325) health risk appraisal were analyzed for interrelationships between health variables. Findings supported the lifestyle system hypothesis. Employees generally had a consistent pattern of health practices influencing how overall physical health was reported. Implications are discussed regarding the incorporation of lifestyle system principles in employee health and assistance programs.     

Work in progress: hybrid temporal-energy subtraction in digital fluoroscopy

Initial clinical results using a digital fluoroscopic implementation of the combined time-energy ("hybrid") subtraction technique are described, with emphasis on carotid and renal imaging. Where patient motion artifacts are due to soft-tissue motion alone, hybrid subtraction can remove them. Due to the need for a finite separation time between high- and low-energy pairs, however, the present implementation of the hybrid technique is not completely immune to soft-tissue motion. The intrinsic signal-to-noise ratio of hybrid imaging is less than that of conventional temporal subtraction. However, since the low-energy temporal subtraction images are included in the hybrid data set, the diagnostic quality of the examination is not compromised.     

Cholinergic synapses and the organization of contrast detection in the crayfish optic lobe

The actions of acetylcholine (ACh) were examined on 4 classes of multicolumnar interneurons whose dendrites lie in close proximity to the putative cholinergic transmedullary neurons described in the companion report. ACh-elicited responses in each cell type resemble visually elicited synaptic events and persist following synaptic blockade with 20 mM CoCl2. Tangential cells exhibit a hyperpolarizing response to ACh that resembles the visual response in reversal potential and dependence on extracellular chloride. The visual response is potentiated by the anticholinesterase, neostigmine (0.1 mM). Visual and carbachol-elicited responses are blocked by nicotinic ganglionic antagonists (e.g., 10(-6) M pempidine) that are 10-100 times more potent than D-tubocurarine. Medullary amacrine cells exhibit depolarizing responses to ACh (10(-6) M) and light with similar reversal potentials. The visual response is potentiated by neostigmine. Dimming fibers respond to light and ACh with a hyperpolarization that inhibits the maintained discharge. The sustaining fiber response to ACh reflects both direct responses and indirectly elicited synaptic actions. The direct action is a hyperpolarization possibly related to the visual "off-response." It is associated with an increased conductance and a reversal potential negative to the dark potential. The off-response is abolished by curare and pempidine and potentiated by neostigmine. ACh appears to orchestrate several aspects of the dual-channel contrast detection system of the optic lobe. The actions of ACh on tangential cells, amacrine cells, and dimming fibers are all consistent with the effects of a spatially localized increment in light intensity and a corresponding local release of ACh in the retinotopic columnar array.     

Eiweißzulagen zur Beeinflussung der Brustdrüsensekretion

Zusammenfassung Beifütterung von Malztropon bei 3 Ziegen, die kurz vorher gelammt hatten, führte unter Hebung der Freßlust zu einer Steigerung der Milchsekretion, die im Verlaufe der ersten Woche begann und nach 14 bis 18 Tagen mit einem durchschnittlichen Mehr von 22,8% gegenüber der Vorperiode ihren Höchststand erreichte. Zu der gleichen Zeit hatte sich die Laktation beim Kontrolltier bereits um 11,5% verringert. Die durchschnittliche Mehrleistung der Malztropontiere erreichte für die gesamte Hauptperiode immer noch einen Wert von 15,1%, während beim Kontrolltier eine Verminderung um durchschnittlich 16,5% gegenüber der Vorperiode festzustellen war. Auch in der Nachperiode ergab sich trotz schnellen Absinkens der täglichen Milchmengen immer noch eine deutliche Mehrleistung im Vergleich zum Kontrolltier. Die Gesamteiweiß- und-fettmenge wuchs entsprechend der Zunahme der Milchmengen; eine nennenswerte Verschiebung des prozentualen Eiweiß- und Fettgehaltes konnte jedoch entgegen den Angaben anderer Forscher nicht festgestellt werden.Mit 1 Textabbildung.     

NK细胞活性在小儿哮喘尘螨特异性免疫治疗中的意义

目的探讨自然杀伤（NK）细胞活性在小儿哮喘尘螨特异性免疫治疗中的意义。方法分别检测尘螨过敏的哮喘患儿58例、正常对照组儿童30例NK细胞活性,并对哮喘患儿进行尘螨特异性免疫治疗,治疗前后检测其NK细胞活性及总IgE。结果哮喘患儿的NK细胞活性比正常对照组显著减少（P〈0．01）;尘螨特异性免疫前较特异性免疫后的哮喘患儿的NK细胞活性显著增高（P〈0．01）,总IgE显著降低（P〈0．01）。结论NK细胞参与哮喘的发病过程,是一种重要的免疫调节细胞。特异性免疫疗法有助于NK细胞活性增强,降低总IgE水平,从而减少哮喘的发作。     

基因突变检测在胃肠间质瘤诊断和治疗中的应用及其价值

c-kit和PDGFRA基因突变是胃肠间质瘤（GIST）最重要的分子特征。对这两个基因突变的检测对于诊断KIT阴性GIST具有重要意义,同时还可以用于预测酪氨酸激酶受体抑制剂的治疗效果。此外,近年来更多的研究关注于把基因突变状态作为判断GIST预后因子的可行性。     

Stem Cell Characteristics in Prostate Cancer Cell Lines

Background

Recent studies indicate the presence of a small, stem-like cell population in several human cancers that is crucial for the tumour (re)population.

Objective

Six established prostate cancer (PCa) cell lines—DU145, DuCaP, LAPC-4, 22Rv1, LNCaP, and PC-3—were examined for their stem cell properties in vitro.

Design, settings, and participants

The colony-forming efficiency and self-renewal ability of morphologically distinguishable holoclones and paraclones were tested with low-density plating and serial passaging. Expression of the putative stem cell marker CD133 and breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) was examined with flow cytometry, and immunohistochemical stainings were made for CD133, α2-integrin, nestin, BCRP, cytokeratin 5 (CK5), and cytokeratin 18 (CK18).

Results and limitations

Five out of six cell lines formed clear holo-, mero-, and paraclones. Unlike paraclones, we can maintain DU145 holoclones in culture for several passages, which is indicative of self-renewal ability. Using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis only in DU145 cells, a small fraction (0.01%) of CD133⁺ cells was detected. CD133⁺ cells; however, like DU145 BCRP⁺ (0.15%) cells, they were not more clonogenic, and they did not show more holoclone formation than the marker-negative cells or unselected cells. Immunohistochemistry revealed α2-integrin and BCRP as potential stem cell markers and CK5 with the combination of CK18 to distinguish transient amplifying cells.

Conclusions

These results indicate the possible presence of stem-like cells in several established PCa cell lines. CD133 selection does not enrich for stem-like cells in PCa cell lines.