Prenatal drug education in public and private schools of Nebraska

Substance abuse during pregnancy continues to be a serious health problem in the United States. Hazards associated with the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs by pregnant women have been documented. The extent to which prenatal drug education is included in school health education has not been addressed. This survey determined the nature and extent of prenatal drug education being conducted by Nebraska school teachers in health-related fields. Educators in public and private schools who teach health-related courses were surveyed. Respondents indicated prenatal drug education is being addressed in a variety of courses. Amount of time devoted to the topic was 2.68 hours overall. Problems associated with providing prenatal drug education included inadequate teacher knowledge and training, lack of appropriate materials, and time limitations in the curriculum. Implications for comprehensive school health education are identified.

Genetic identification of Mom-1, a major modifier locus affecting Min-induced intestinal neoplasia in the mouse

Mutations in the human APC gene caused various familial colon cancer syndromes. The Multiple intestinal neoplasia (Min) mouse provides an excellent model for familial colon cancer: it carries a mutant mouse Apc gene and develops many intestinal adenomas. Here, we analyze how this tumor phenotype is dramatically modified by genetic background. We report the genetic mapping of a locus that strongly modifies tumor number in Min/+ animals. This gene, Mom-1 (Modifier of Min-1), maps to distal chromosome 4 and controls about 50% of genetic variation in tumor number in two intraspecific backcrosses. The mapping is supported by a LOD score exceeding 14. Interestingly, Mom-1 lies in a region of synteny conservation with human chromosome 1p35-36, a region of frequent somatic loss of heterozygosity in a variety of human tumors, including colon tumors. These results provide evidence of a major modifier affecting expression of an inherited cancer syndrome.

Mapping of multiple intestinal neoplasia (Min) to proximal chromosome 18 of the mouse

The Min (multiple intestinal neoplasia) mutation of the mouse has been mapped by analyzing the inheritance of restriction fragment length polymorphisms and simple sequence length polymorphisms in progeny from two intraspecific crosses segregating for the Min mutation. Min, a mutant allele of Apc, the mouse homolog of the human APC (adenomatous polyposis coli) gene, maps to proximal chromosome 18. The synteny between Apc and Mcc, the mouse homolog of the human MCC (mutated in colorectal cancer) gene, is conserved between mouse and human, although the gene order in the Apc to Mcc interval is different from that in the APC to MCC interval.

Immunolocalization of ras oncogene p21 in human liver diseases

Fifty-five cases representing a spectrum of disease states of the human liver and 10 normal liver controls were examined for the presence of the ras oncogene product p21. Conventional formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections were immunostained by the avidin-biotin complex method with the broadly reactive ras p21 monoclonal antibody (Mab) RAP-5. The specificity of the reactions was confirmed by immunostaining selected samples with Mab Y13-259. In the normal liver, virtually no hepatocytic immunostaining was noted. Variable, often extensive, and convincing immunoreactions were noted in diverse forms of hepatitis, cirrhosis, and allograft rejection; the strongest immunostaining was found in samples of focal nodular hyperplasia. Hepatic adenomas and hepatocellular carcinomas showed unevenly distributed, moderate to weak reactions or no reaction at all; cholangiocarcinomas did not immunostain. In reactive but non-transformed liver cell populations, enhanced p21 ras reactions seemed to correlate with the severity of the injury and the intensity of the proliferative response. The uneven and comparatively weak ras p21 reactions noted in adenomas and carcinomas suggest that this oncogene product may be involved only transitorily in their transformation processes and possibly may not be involved in certain variants thereof.

Multiple intestinal neoplasia caused by a mutation in the murine homolog of the APC gene

Germ-line mutations of the APC gene are responsible for familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), an autosomal dominantly inherited disease in humans. Patients with FAP develop multiple benign colorectal tumors. Recently, a mouse lineage that exhibits an autosomal dominantly inherited predisposition to multiple intestinal neoplasia (Min) was described. Linkage analysis showed that the murine homolog of the APC gene (mApc) was tightly linked to the Min locus. Sequence comparison of mApc between normal and Min-affected mice identified a nonsense mutation, which cosegregated with the Min phenotype. This mutation is analogous to those found in FAP kindreds and in sporadic colorectal cancers.

Expression of a new mucin-type glycoprotein in select epithelial dysplasias and neoplasms detected immunocytochemically with Mab A-80

We studied by immunocytochemistry 573 tissue and 106 cytologic samples of human tumors, non-neoplastic proliferative lesions and normal tissues with the monoclonal antibody (Mab) A-80 that recognizes a mucinous glycoprotein from the colon carcinoma cell line LS-174T. The spectrum of benign and malignant breast lesions was studied as were epithelial tumors of the colon, stomach, pancreas, lung, salivary glands, thyroid, prostate, kidney, endometrium, skin and mesothelium; non-epithelial tumors included lymphomas, melanomas, gliomas, meningiomas, and sarcomas of soft tissue and bone. With a single exception, breast carcinomas regardless of histologic type were reactive while few fibroadenomas stained weakly and focally. In fibrocystic disease, the presence and intensity of the reactivity paralleled the severity of the epithelial proliferation, e.g. staining was strong in foci of severe or atypical hyperplasia, borderline lesions and carcinomas in situ; apocrine metaplasia stained often but less strongly. Barrett's mucosa, colonic polyps and most gastric and colonic carcinomas stained regardless of glandular features while small cell neuroendocrine carcinomas did not. Adenocarcinomas of the pancreas and lung, and a subset of large cell lung carcinomas reacted whereas neuroendocrine carcinomas of those sites did not. Carcinomas of endometrium, ovary and prostate reacted variably whereas thyroid and renal carcinomas and mesotheliomas were either negative or weakly reactive despite the presence of glands. Lymphomas, skin adnexal tumors, nevi, schwannomas, melanomas, gliomas and sarcomas generally did not react but occasional A-80-positive cells were seen in rare sarcomas and meningiomas. Immunostaining patterns in cytologic specimens were similar to the aforementioned. We conclude that Mab A-80 is an excellent marker for breast carcinomas, and for certain proliferative forms of fibrocystic disease that may precede or be associated with carcinomatous transformation. In colonic, pulmonary and gastric carcinomas, staining with Mab A-80 revealed exocrine features regardless of the absence of glands whereas in renal and thyroid carcinomas and in mesotheliomas staining was focal and weak or absent irrespective of glandular features. We suggest that Mab A-80 is a very promising immunolabel for select exocrine carcinomas, and for some of the dysplasias that may precede their development; its ease of application on tissue sections and cytologic specimens should broaden its usefulness.

Perspectives on intra-aortic balloon-pump timing

Triggering and timing of the intra-aortic balloon pump are becoming more sophisticated but more clinically manageable. The key to understanding the data currently available is to go beyond early instruction to "eyeball" waveform analysis. Conclusive assessment of the patient's response to therapy lies in a greater understanding of today's technology and clinical competency in evaluating the patient's total hemodynamic, clinical, and laboratory response to assure maximal therapeutic efficiency of counterpulsation therapy. Nursing research on an ongoing basis will contribute to a greater understanding of this complex therapy. Many of the principles of balloon pumping were derived in the years following its initial introduction. Since that time, we have gained a depth of knowledge and an increased capacity for measuring physiologic and hemodynamic responses at the bedside. Concurrently, the medical industry has designed faster, smarter, and more efficient equipment to complement patient care. The critical care nurse faces the challenge of synthesizing the newest information from both areas and developing a greater understanding of the ongoing care of the patient on the IABP.