Phosphoinositide 3-kinase is involved in the induction of the human sperm acrosome reaction downstream of tyrosine phosphorylation

In somatic cells phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) is activated upon interaction with both receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK) and G- proteins resulting in the production of moieties involved in the inositol phospholipid signalling pathway. As G proteins, RTK and the inositol phospholipids have all been implicated in the human sperm acrosome reaction, experiments were carried out to determine whether PI 3-kinase was also involved in this phenomenon. Wortmannin is a selective inhibitor of PI 3-kinase and was shown to significantly inhibit the acrosome reaction induced by both mannose-bovine serum albumin (mannose-BSA) (10, 50 and 100 nM) and a polyclonal antibody raised against an extracellular region of the sperm zona receptor kinase (ZRK, at 100 nM only). Wortmannin did not inhibit the A23187- or progesterone-induced acrosome reaction. These results suggest that PI 3- kinase is involved in the human sperm acrosome reaction. The levels of tyrosine phosphorylation of sperm proteins as detected by Western blotting using antiphosphotyrosine antibodies was not affected by wortmannin in agonist (A23187 and mannose-BSA)-stimulated spermatozoa. This indicated that PI 3-kinase operates downstream of tyrosine phosphorylation in the signal transduction cascade which leads to the human sperm acrosome reaction.      

Impact of the learning curve on term delivery rates following laparoscopic salpingostomy for infertility associated with distal tubal occlusive disease

The objective of this study was to determine the impact of the learning curve of one surgeon on the term delivery rate following laparoscopic salpingostomy for tubal infertility. This was a retrospective audit of ongoing clinical practice, undertaken in two tertiary level infertility programmes. Subjects in this study were women undergoing surgery for total occlusion of the distal Fallopian tube. The main outcome measure was cumulative term delivery rates. On stepwise life-table analysis the length of infertility, primary and secondary infertility, tubal diameter and whether surgery was performed in the first or second half of the series were significantly associated with outcome. These data suggest that there is a learning curve in obtaining skills to perform laparoscopic salpingostomy, that patient selection may improve with experience, and that selection criteria should be emphasized during didactic teaching and the preceptorship process.      

Combined iron and zinc supplementation in infants improved iron and zinc status, but interactions reduced efficacy in a multicountry trial in southeast Asia

Deficiencies of iron and zinc are prevalent worldwide. Interactions between these micronutrients therefore have important consequences, also for supplementation. To investigate effects on hemoglobin and zinc concentrations and interactions of iron and zinc supplementation in infants, data from 4 parallel, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trials in Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam were pooled. Infants (n=2468), aged 4-6 mo, were supplemented daily with iron (10 mg) and/or zinc (10 mg) for 6 mo. At 3 sites, infants were given vitamin A capsules (VAC) at recruitment. Combined supplementation reduced prevalences of anemia by 21% (P<0.01) and zinc deficiency by 10% (P<0.05) but was less effective (P<0.05) than supplementation with either iron (28% reduction in anemia) or zinc alone (18% reduction in zinc deficiency). Iron reduced the effect of zinc supplementation (interaction P<0.01), but had no separate effect on zinc status, whereas zinc supplementation had a negative effect on hemoglobin concentrations (-2.5 g/L, P<0.001), independent of iron supplementation (Pinteraction=0.25). The effect of iron supplementation on hemoglobin concentrations was almost twice as large in boys than in girls (effect size 12.0 vs. 6.8 g/L, respectively). In infants not receiving iron, VAC administration tended to be associated with lower (3.2%, P=0.07) hemoglobin concentrations. Combined supplementation of iron and zinc was safe and effective in reducing the high prevalences of anemia and iron and zinc deficiencies. Zinc supplementation may negatively affect iron status but iron supplementation does not seem to affect zinc status. Furthermore, VAC administration in the absence of iron supplementation may increase the incidence of anemia.     

A granulocyte reactive monoclonal antibody, 1G10, identifies the Gal beta 1-4 (Fuc alpha 1-3)GlcNAc (X determinant) expressed in HL-60 cells on both glycolipid and glycoprotein molecules

1G10, a monoclonal IgM antibody that identifies a differentiation antigen on human granulocytes and a subpopulation of monocytes, was found to react specifically with glycosphingolipids bearing the Gal beta 1-4(Fuc alpha 1-3)GlcNAc hapten (X determinant). This carbohydrate determinant was found on both glycolipid and glycoprotein molecules isolated from HL-60 cells (a promyelocytic leukemia cell line). Thus, this highly conserved carbohydrate-defined determinant previously described on mouse embryonic and mouse and human carcinoma cells is also expressed as a tissue-specific differentiation antigen on normal human granulocytes.     

Husband's approval of contraceptive use in metropolitan Indonesia: program implications

Husband's approval of contraceptive use plays a decisive role in Indonesia. Despite this, no previous study of contraceptive use in Indonesia has evaluated the importance of husband's approval. Such evaluation is especially important in metropolitan areas where family planning programs have encountered more difficulty than those elsewhere in recruiting contraceptive users. Using data from the first Indonesia Contraceptive Prevalence Survey for metropolitan cities, husband's approval and other determinants of contraceptive use among fecund women were evaluated. The levels of contraceptive use varied among cities, ranging from 34.2 percent in Ujung Pandang to 56.5 percent in Semarang. For all cities, however, husband's approval was the most important determinant, followed by number of living children and wife's education. Among women who desire to have no more children, 17.4 percent and 27.8 percent of contraceptive nonuse in Medan and Jakarta, respectively, was attributable to husband's disapproval. Because most of the family planning programs in Indonesia are designed to serve primarily women, the finding of husband's approval as the most important determinant has important program implications.     

The Canadian Chiropractic Examination Board results: a statistical evaluation

This paper presents a statistical analysis of the Canadian Chiropractic Examining Board results for the years 1977, 1978 and 1979. The examinations, of which there are 10, together with the overall result are examined from the point of view of the student’s college of graduation, the year in which the examinations were written and (for CMCC students only) prior non-chiropractic education. Finally the correlation between individual subjects and the final percent is discussed.It was found that both chiropractic college of graduation and the year in which the examinations were written were strongly related to an individual’s standing. Since it is quite possible that these results are an artifact of the examinations, arguments are put forward that the graduate population did indeed vary from year to year, and that systematic differences do exist among the graduates of the various colleges. On the other hand, however, it was found that prior non-chiropractic education had little bearing on how well a graduate did on the examinations.Although there were very strong correlations between the examinations and the final percent, four of these examinations — Neurology, Pathology, Physiology and Principles — together accounted for over 90% of the variance in the final grade.     

Household demand for typhoid fever vaccines in Hue, Vietnam

The demand function for vaccines against typhoid fever was estimated using stated preference data collected from a random sample of 1065 households in Hue, Vietnam, in 2002. These are the first estimates of private willingness-to-pay (WTP) and demand functions for typhoid vaccines in a developing country. Mean respondent WTP for a single typhoid fever vaccine ranged from USD 2.30 to USD 4.80. Mean household WTP estimates (vaccinating all members of the household) ranged from USD 21 to USD 27. Demand was similar for vaccines with different degrees of effectiveness and intervals of duration. These results suggest a significant potential for private sector provision of typhoid fever vaccines in Hue.