The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was evaluated using coded blood specimens from infants whose clinical status is now known. A micromethod for the efficient ...isolation of mononuclear cells from small volumes of blood, and definitions of PCR positivity that took into account the number and purity of these mononuclear cells, were established in an attempt to define parameters for quality assurance. Results of HIV culture, p-24 antigen, and HIV-specific IgA obtained on the same specimens were compared to PCR results. PCR had a specificity of 100% among 83 specimens from 50 babies known to be uninfected. Sensitivity among 26 HIV-infected infants older than 3 months was 98% (44 of 45 specimens); the one negative specimen, which had also been culture negative, gave a positive PCR result on the remaining aliquot when tested after decoding. Among infected infants less than 3 months old, which is an age when diagnosis by other assays is most problematic, PCR identified 10 of 10 patients (10 of 11 specimens) including two younger than one month. Viral culture showed the best concordance with PCR; however, in three infants, positive PCR results were observed several months before positive results were observed by viral culture.
Angiogenic expansion of the vasa vasorum is a well-known feature of progressive atherosclerosis, suggesting that antiangiogenic therapies may stabilize or regress plaques. Alpha(v)beta3 ...integrin-targeted paramagnetic nanoparticles were prepared for noninvasive assessment of angiogenesis in early atherosclerosis, for site-specific delivery of antiangiogenic drug, and for quantitative follow-up of response.
Expression of alpha(v)beta3 integrin by vasa vasorum was imaged at 1.5 T in cholesterol-fed rabbit aortas using integrin-targeted paramagnetic nanoparticles that incorporated fumagillin at 0 microg/kg or 30 microg/kg. Both formulations produced similar MRI signal enhancement (16.7%+/-1.1%) when integrated across all aortic slices from the renal arteries to the diaphragm. Seven days after this single treatment, integrin-targeted paramagnetic nanoparticles were readministered and showed decreased MRI enhancement among fumagillin-treated rabbits (2.9%+/-1.6%) but not in untreated rabbits (18.1%+/-2.1%). In a third group of rabbits, nontargeted fumagillin nanoparticles did not alter vascular alpha(v)beta3-integrin expression (12.4%+/-0.9%; P>0.05) versus the no-drug control. In a second study focused on microscopic changes, fewer microvessels in the fumagillin-treated rabbit aorta were counted compared with control rabbits.
This study illustrates the potential of combined molecular imaging and drug delivery with targeted nanoparticles to noninvasively define atherosclerotic burden, to deliver effective targeted drug at a fraction of previous levels, and to quantify local response to treatment.
In evaluation of the current Allergy-Immunology (AI) Program of the Department of Medicine at Northwestern University Medical School and in planning for the future, it appeared that our assessment of ...changes in the AI program since its inception might be of value to other AI academic programs. Further, we might receive suggestions from other academic AI programs, and we request such advice.
OBJECTIVES: This study investigates the consistency of factors associated with adolescent injury in separate urban and rural samples. SAMPLES: Adolescents, 11-17 years old, in public schools in urban ...and rural Maryland (n = 2,712). METHODS: Separate bivariate and logistic regression analyses were conducted for each sample to determine individual and environmental factors associated with major and minor injuries experienced in the previous year. RESULTS: Multivariate analyses revealed that, for both samples, the probability of a major injury was highest for boys and, among both boys and girls, for those who played several team sports. Among rural youth, other significant covariates of both major and minor injuries were a tendency to engage in risky behavior and to use alcohol. For urban youth, being white, carrying a weapon for protection, attending an unsafe school, and working for pay were also significant covariates. Interactions were important and complex. CONCLUSIONS: The consistency of predictive factors, such as multiple sports team participation and risky and aggressive behaviors in completely different physical environments, underscores the need to address the contexts of heightened injury risk that some adolescents create wherever they live by playing sports and/or behaving in an antisocial, aggressive manner. Moreover, the perception of lack of safety in schools and neighborhoods is associated with increased injury rates, suggesting the need for policy interventions to target social environments as well as behavior.
This long-needed sourcebook assesses the unique styles and themes of notable African-American orators from the mid-19th century to the present-of 43 representative public speakers, from W.E.B. Du ...Bois and Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Martin Luther King Jr. and Jesse Jackson to Barbara Jordan and Thurgood Marshall. The critical analyses of the oratory of a broad segment of different types of public speakers demonstrate how they have stressed the historical search for freedom, upheld American ideals while condemning discriminatory practices against African-Americans, and have spoken in behalf of black pride. This biographical dictionary with its evaluative essays, sources for further reading, and speech chronologies is designed for broad interdisciplinary use by students, teachers, activists, and general readers in college, university, institutional, and public libraries.
We now report the confirmation of the work of Hollingshead et al. (1995) on development of a cell based hollow fiber (HF) system for evaluating potential anti-AIDS drugs in vivo using conventional ...mice rather than SCID mice. CD4+, CEM-SS cells infected with
HIV
1
, strain RF, at a multiplicity of infection of 0.1 were placed into HFs. The fibers were implanted into the peritoneal cavity of outbred Swiss mice. Using this model, the antiviral activity of azidothymidine (AZT) at doses of ∼ 150, 75 and 37.5 mg/kg/day was evaluated by administering AZT to the mice in drinking water. Upon fiber removal on day 6, AZT treatment was shown to significantly increase CEM cell viability over the untreated, virus control group and significantly reduced the levels of HIV p24 and HIV RT activity.
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IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
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