Evaluating anxiety in patients attending optometric practice

Although anxiety is a well-established obstacle to the delivery of effective health care, there have been no attempts to measure it in the optometric consulting room. In this paper, we introduce physiological and psychological techniques that may be used to evaluate anxiety and arousal in the consulting room and present data from a small group of patients attending for a routine eye examination. Specifically, arousal was assessed before, during, and after the examination by measuring skin conductance in five patients. Anxiety was evaluated using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Our data confirm the ability of these techniques to quantify arousal and anxiety in the optometric consulting room and reveal a previously unknown but important facet of the eye examination. We conclude that these techniques are suitable for use in further experimental work and may be used to identify factors capable of reducing anxiety in the optometric consulting room.     

Proximity factor in image size magnification for optical instruments in general

A general expression is derived for the proximity factor in near image size magnification for an arbitrary instrument in front of an arbitrary eye. The proximity factor is a 2 x 2 matrix. The instrument and eye may be astigmatic and have decentred elements. The image on the retina may be blurred or not. The analysis is exact within the limitations of linear optics. The general results are specialized for the case of a stigmatic instrument and a stigmatic eye. The results are applied to the case of a thick, possibly bitoric, spectacle lens. The Appendix treats two numerical examples.     

sFGFR1基因的克隆与在RTS系统中的高效表达

目的：克隆sFGFRl(soluble fibroblast growth factors receptor-1)基因，并在RTS(rapid translation system)系统中高效表达相应蛋白．方法：培养Swiss rat 3T3 fibroblast细胞株，提取总RNA，用RT—PCR方法获取鼠sFGFR1 cDNA片段，酶切后克隆到pIVEX2．3d载体并进行序列分析；采用Roche RTS ProteinMaster500系统，高效表达sFGFR1蛋白并用Western Blot鉴定表达的蛋白．结果：克隆了sFGFR1基因，测序证实序列正确；Western Blot证实sFGFR1蛋白在RTS系统中高效表达．结论：克隆了sFGFR1基因并在RTS系统获得高效表达．     

子宫内膜异位症患者血清及腹腔液中血小板衍生生长因子、血管细胞粘附分子水平的变化及其意义

目的通过检测子宫内膜异位症(EMs)患者血清及腹腔液中血小板衍生生长因子(PDGF)、血管细胞粘附分子-(VCAM-1)浓度,探讨PDGF和VCAM-1在EMs发病中的作用。方法选取手术后病理证实为EMs的40例患者为EMs组,其中I~II期17例,III~IV23例;非EMs组20例作为对照组。应用酶联免疫吸附法(ELISA)检测血清及腹腔液中PDGF和VCAM-1水平。结果EMs组血清及腹腔液中PDGF、VCAM-1水平均明显高于对照组(P<0.01)。随EMs期别的增加,其血清和腹腔液中PDGF、VCAM-1含量呈上升趋势;EMsIII~IV期水平显著高于I~II期(P<0.05)。EMs患者PDGF与VCAM-1呈正相关性(P<0.05)。结论EMs患者PDGF、VCAM-1表达水平升高,在EMs的发生发展中具有重要作用。     

Physiological neutrophilia of pregnancy is not associated with a rise in plasma granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF)

A patient with neutropenia and life-threatening infections secondary to T-γ lymphoproliferative disease, who did not respond to treatment with recombinant human G-CSF (filgrastim), was treated with filgrastim plus cyclosporine A (CyA). The patient achieved a good response in the absolute neutrophil count and subsequently required a dose reduction in the filgrastim. The patient was eventually discontinued from the CyA but continues on filgrastim alone. While on therapy, the large granular lymphocytes disappeared from the circulation and the beta-TCR rearrangement, which was present prior to beginning therapy, became undetectable. The patient had no significant toxicity to the CyA or the filgrastim and he has not experienced any serious infections or required hospitalization. Filgrastim has proven to be relatively nontoxic and of some benefit to patients with this disease and should probably be utilized first when treatment is necessary. However, if improvement is not observed, these findings suggest that a trial of the combination of CyA plus filgrastim may be beneficial.     

Transforming growth factor alpha treatment alters intracellular calcium levels in hair cells and protects them from ototoxic damage in vitro

To determine if transforming growth factor alpha (TGFα) pretreatment protects hair cells from aminoglycoside induced injury by modifying their intracellular calcium concentration, we assayed hair cell calcium levels in organ of Corti explants both before and after aminoglycoside (i.e. neomycin, 10⁻³M) exposure either with or without growth factor pretreatment. After TGFα (500ng/ml) treatment, the intracellular calcium level of hair cells showed a five-fold increase as compared to the levels observed in the hair cells of control cultures. After ototoxin exposure, calcium levels in hair cells of control explants showed an increase relative to their baseline levels, while in the presence of growth factors pretreatment, hair cells showed a relative reduction in calcium levels. Pretreatment of organ of Corti explants afforded significant protection of hair cell stereocilia bundle morphology from ototoxic damage when compared to explants exposed to ototoxin alone. This study correlates a rise in hair cell calcium levels with the otoprotection of hair cells by TGFα in organ of Corti explants.     

The multifunctionality of FGF-2 in the adrenal medulla

 Chromaffin cells of the adrenal medulla and their tumor counterparts, the pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells, are well-established model systems in neurobiology. The development of sympathoadrenal progenitor cells to chromaffin cells can be studied with regard to developmental signals which trigger the differentiation. With regard to potential treatments of neurological disorders like Parkinson’s disease chromaffin cell grafting can be used as one therapeutical approach. The beneficial effect of chromaffin cell grafts is possibly not only related to the release of dopamine but may also be linked to the release of growth factors. One of the growth factors that is synthesized by chromaffin and PC12 cells is basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2). The experimental data available so far, are in agreement with different functional roles of FGF-2. This article summarizes the putative physiological functions of FGF-2 in the adrenal medulla. Three differential functional roles of FGF-2 are discussed: (1) as a differentiation factor for sympathoadrenal progenitor cells; (2) as a target-derived neurotrophic factor for preganglionic sympathetic neurons which innervate adrenal medullary cells; (3) as an auto-/paracrine factor in the adrenal medulla. Accepted: 21 August 1996     

人碱性成纤维细胞生长因子基因在大肠杆菌中的克隆与表达

应用DNA重组技术将编码人碱性成纤维细胞生长因子（bbFGF）的基因克隆至原核高效表达质粒pBV_(221)的启动子下游。SDS-SAGE、ELISA和NTT活性监测结果表明:该重组质粒pBV-hbFGF在大肠杆菌DH5α中,经42℃诱导后,可表达出有较高生物活性的hbFGF。     

Expression and distribution of vascular endothelial growth factor protein in human brain tumors

Marked neovascularization is a hallmark of many neoplasms in the nervous system. Recent reports indicate that the endothelial mitogen vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) may play a critical role in the regulation of vascular endothelial proliferation in malignant gliomas. Using novel monoclonal antibodies to the VEGF polypeptide we have determined the expression and cellular distribution of VEGF protein in a representative series of 171 human central nervous system (CNS) tumors by immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting. In agreement with previous in situ hybridization data, 19 out of 20 glioblastomas (95%) showed immunoreactivity for VEGF, whereas both the percentage of immunoreactive tumors and the extent of immunoreactivity for VEGF were significantly lower in astrocytomas. Of the pilocytic astrocytomas (WHO grade I) 44% were immunoreactive for VEGF, but we observed several cases with pronounced vascular proliferates in the absence of VEGF. In ependymomas, meningiomas, hemangioblastomas, and primitive neuroectodermal tumors, there was no correlation between VEGF expression, vascular endothelial proliferation and the grade of malignancy. Oligodendrogliomas and the oligodendroglial component of mixed gliomas lacked immunoreactive VEGF, indicating that endothelial growth factors other than VEGF may regulate tumor angiogenesis in these neoplasms. Western blot analysis showed a predominant VEGF protein species of 23 kDa and confirmed the immunohistochemical data in all cases. Our findings demonstrate that VEGF is expressed in a wide spectrum of brain tumors in which it may induce neovascularization. However, other angiogenic factors also appear to contribute to the vascularization of CNS neoplasms. Received: 18 April 1996 / Revised, accepted: 20 August 1996     

牛胎盘中肝细胞生长因子的纯化

用高速离心、分段盐析、亲和层析、超滤和阴离子交换层析法，从牛胎盘中分离纯化出一种肝细胞生长因子。结果表明，此因子的最终得率为０．００５ｍｇ／ｇ牛胎盘，其分子量约为９９０００ｕ，它能强烈刺激原代培养大鼠肝细胞的ＤＮＡ合成。提示利用自制的亲和层析凝胶，通过此提纯流程可以得到一种肝细胞生长因子。