Camp Okizu: Preliminary Investigation of a Psychological Intervention for Siblings of Pediatric Cancer Patients

This research was conducted at a summer camp for siblings of children with cancer. The camp is designed to address emotional problems, provide peer interaction and validation, and bolster siblings' self-esteem. Standardized measures assessing posttraumatic stress, anxiety, quality of life, and self-esteem were administered to 77 siblings (ages 6-17) prior to attending camp and again 3 months after camp. From pre- to post-camp, the siblings reported statistically significant decreases in symptoms of posttraumatic stress and anxiety, and statistically significant improvements in quality of life and self-esteem. These preliminary findings are encouraging and suggest the value of camp as a psychological intervention and provide a model for other pediatric cancer facilities designing intervention programs for siblings.     

重组人白细胞介素-1β对小鼠骨髓粒系细胞和红系细胞的正负调节作用

为阐明IL-1对粒系细胞和红系细胞的作用,我们通过对小鼠骨髓及外周血的研究探讨了IL-1对粒系和红系造血细胞的调节作用.结果表明:IL-1单剂量腹腔注射后第7天红系造血细胞明显减少,外周血网织红细胞在第8天显著下降.在5～10万U/kg剂量范围内IL-1明显促进粒系细胞的增殖.应用流式细胞仪对DNA分析显示IL-1并不引起全骨髓细胞DNA的变化,但大体积细胞在注射IL-1后第3天S期细胞明显增多.我们的结果表明IL-1抑制红系造血细胞的分化增殖,在适当的剂量范围内促进粒系细胞的增殖和分化成熟.其作用的分子基础是诱导造血细胞的细胞周期变化.     

Modulation of carbohydrate metabolism in the selected tissues of marine prawn, Penaeus indicus (H. Milne Edwards), under phosphamidon-induced stress

Changes in carbohydrate metabolism were studied in midgut gland, muscle, and gill tissues of marine prawn Penaeus indicus exposed to a sublethal concentration (0.3 ppm) of phosphamidon. A significant decrease in glycogen and pyruvate and an increase in lactate content were observed in all phosphamidon-exposed prawn tissues after 96 hr. An increase in phosphorylase a and aldolase activity levels suggested the increased formation of triose sugars during phosphamidon toxicity. LDH activity was considerably decreased and an increment in lactate content was observed which indicates reduced mobilization of pyruvate into the citric acid cycle. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity was considerably increased, suggesting the enhanced oxidation of glucose in the hexose monophosphate shunt pathway. Krebs cycle enzymes such as NAD-isocitrate dehydrogenase, succinate dehydrogenase, and malate dehydrogenase were found to be decreased, suggesting the impairment in mitochondrial oxidative metabolism due to the acute toxic impact of phosphamidon. Cytochrome-c oxidase and Mg2+ ATPase activity levels were also decreased considerably, suggesting impaired energy synthesis and breakdown during phosphamidon toxicity, as a result of reduced oxidation of glucose aerobically. The increase in acid and alkaline phosphatase activities indicates the enhanced breakdown of phosphate to release energy in view of inhibiton or impairment in the ATPase system during phosphamidon-induced stress. These results suggest that phosphamidon has a profound effect on the oxidative metabolism of prawn which results in the triggering of compensatory metabolic pathways for survivability.     

Radiotherapy in the treatment of low-grade astrocytomas

Between 1954 and 1986 inclusive, 160 children in the North West Region of England were registered with histologically proven lowgrade astrocytomas (grade 1 or 2). Ten died before receiving any treatment, and a further seven died within 28 days of surgery, leaving 143 children whose survival in relation to treatment modality is the subject of this paper. Low-grade astrocytomas are responsive to radiation therapy. This treatment has no clear benefit to offer children with superficial tumours that can be resected completely or nearly so, but significantly improves survival rates when tumours are deep-seated and not amenable to excision.