The criminal purchase of firearm ammunition.

OBJECTIVE: Laws that prohibit certain individuals from owning firearms also pertain to ammunition. Whereas retail sales of firearms to criminals are regularly disrupted by instant background checks, sales of ammunition are essentially unchecked and the rate at which criminals acquire ammunition is unknown. This research describes the ammunition market and estimates the rate at which criminals are acquiring ammunition. DESIGN: Criminal background checks conducted on individuals purchasing ammunition in the City of Los Angeles in April and May 2004. SETTING: Los Angeles, CA, USA. SUBJECTS: Ammunition purchasers. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Criminal activity that prohibits one from owning, purchasing, or possessing ammunition. RESULTS: 2.6% (95% CI 1.9% to 3.2%) of ammunition purchasers had a prior felony conviction or another condition that prohibited them from possessing ammunition. During the study period prohibited possessors purchased 10,050 rounds of ammunition in Los Angeles. CONCLUSIONS: These estimates suggest that monitoring ammunition transactions may help reduce the supply of ammunition to criminals and the frequency of injuries from felonious gun assaults. Such a record can also provide information for generating leads on illegal firearm possession.     

Intraoperative radiotherapy of upper abdominal tumours

Thirty patients with malignant tumours in the upper abdomen underwent surgery and intraoperalive radiation (IORT), using electron beam, to: the surgical bed, residual or unresected tumour. The technical aspects and results of this treatment are described. Renal, adrenal, bile duct and gastrointestinal tumours were treated. along with several other lesions. The surgical procedure consisted in 10 cases simply of exposure of the tumour for IORT and in 20 the tumour was resected. The TORT dose ranged from 10 to: 20 Gv. In 13 patients, external beam radiation was also given to: residual tumour or to: areas of high risk for recurrence. Chemotherapy was given to: 10 patients. Tolerance to: the combined treatment was acceptable; with few complications related to: IORT.The median follow-up and survival time 23 months (range 4-more than 70 months). Local tumour control rate (or tumour stabilisation) is 90%. Distant metastases developed in 19 patients (63%). The actuarial survival rate for the group projected at 70 months (maximum follow-up) is 37%. IORT in useful in the management of tumours arising in the upper abdominal organs, for palliation surgery or when resectability of the tumour is in doubt. Indications for IORT include patients with uncommon tumours of the upper abdomen who are not be candidates for standardised cancer treatment.Presented at the European Congress of Radiology, Vienna, September 15–20,1991     

Transformation of Penicillium chrysogenum using the Aspergillus nidulans amdS gene as a dominant selective marker

Summary The Aspergillus nidulans acetamidase gene (amdS) has been used to transform Penicillium chrysogenum at low frequency. Several transformants were tested and shown to be mitotically stable. Southern blot analysis indicated that transforming DNA had integrated into the chromosomal DNA, possibly at multiple sites.     

Inhibition of HSV-1-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes by recombinant-derived gp120 of HIV-1.

The ability of human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) and recombinant HIV-1 gp120 to prevent target cell lysis by herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1)-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) was assessed by limiting dilution analysis. Live and inactivated HIV-1 as well as recombinant-derived gp120 all substantially inhibited HSV-1-specific CTL. Soluble CD4 antigen reversed the inhibition by gp120 when simultaneously added with gp120 to the assay. In addition, the monoclonal anti-CD4 antibody a-Leu3a mimicked the effects of gp120 in these experiments. These data suggest that the observed decrease in measurable CTL activity is caused by direct or steric hindrance of the CD4-class II major histocompatibility complex interaction between the effector and target cells.     

Differentiation of ischemic from non-ischemic central retinal vein occlusion during the early acute phase

We investigated prospectively in 128 patients (140 eyes) the role of six routine clinical tests in the differentiation of ischemic central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) from non-ischemic CRVO during its early acute phase. There were fourfunctional tests [visual acuity, visual fields, relative afferent pupillary defect (RAPID), electroretinography (ERG)] and twomorphologic tests (ophthalmoscopy and fluorescein fundus angiography). We found that none of the six tests had 100% sensitivity and specificity in such a differentiation during the early, acute phase, so that no one test can be considered a gold standard; however, combined information from all six is almost always reliable. Overall, the four functional tests proved far superior to the two morphologic tests in differentiating ischemic from non-ischemic CRVO: RAPID was most reliable in uniocular CRVO (with a normal fellow eye), followed closely by ERG in all cases; combined information from RAPID and ERG differentiated 97% of cases; perimetry was the next most reliable, followed by visual acuity. The two morphologic tests performed worst; fluorescein angiography provided either no information at all on retinal capillary nonperfusion (in at least one-third of the eyes during the early, acute phase) because of multiple limitations, or sometimes provided misleading information. Ophthalmoscopic appearance is the least reliable, most misleading parameter.A preliminary summary of this was presented at the Macula Society Meeting, Cannes, France (June, 1987) and at the XVIth Meeting of the Club Jules Gonin, Bruges, Belgium, 4–8 September 1988. This investigation was supported by grant EY-1151 from the National Institutes of Health and, in part, by unrestricted grants from Research to Prevent Blindness, Inc., and from Alcon Research Institute     

Radical prostatectomy. The surgical complications

Study of 165 patients with prostate adenocarcinoma who underwent radical prostatectomy using a retropubic approach. Mean PSA is 19 ng/ml, mean age 63 years and median follow-up 26 months. 22 patients (13.2%) reported complications during the first month post-surgery, primarily urinary fistula of more than 5 days long in 5 patients and rectal injury in 3.49 patients (29%) reported complications after the first month, mainly urinary incontinence in 26 cases and stenosis of the urethrovesical juncture in 15. The group with early complications showed no significant differences compared to those who had none, neither in PSA (p = 0.3) or a worse pathological stage (p = 0.1), and no evidence is shown in terms of biochemical progression or in disease free progression (p = 1). Patients with urethrovesical juncture stenosis have higher mean PSA (p = 0.01), greater biochemical progression (p = 0.006), worse Gleason (p = 0.03 = and worse progression free survival (p = 0.01). Patients with stress incontinence showed no differences compared to the other groups relative to the studied factors.