Multi-modal access method (eye-tracking + switch-scanning) for individuals with severe motor impairment: A preliminary investigation.

Individuals with severe motor impairments often require alternative means to access computers and communication technology. A range of alternative access devices exist; however, most rely on use of a single access modality. While this approach works for some individuals, it can be limiting for others. This study explored the use of a multi-modal prototype (eye-tracking + switch-scanning) on typing performance with a range of individuals with motor impairments. The multi-modal prototype was compared to eye-tracking alone for this study. Results indicated that the multi-modal prototype had significantly slower typing rate but significantly lower total errors compared to eye-tracking alone. Analysis of individual data revealed four subgroups of clinical relevance including individuals that 1) benefit from multi-modal, 2) benefit from eye-tracking, 3) demonstrate learning and 4) demonstrate fluctuating performance.

[The heat shock protein of alpha-crystallin type from mycoplasma (Acholeplasma laidlawii)].

A considerable increase in several heat shock proteins (HSPs) amount in Acholeplasma laidlawii cells has been revealed after temperature rising of liquid culture; and the quantity of small HSP, named p17, was increased in a hundred of times. The p17 protein was isolated and identified as HSP of alpha-crystallin type (alpha-HSP). It became possible as a result of sequencing of 15 amino acids from N-terminal of the p17 polypeptide chain, followed by revealing of a corresponding open reading frame (ORF) in a completely sequenced genome of A. laidlawii PG 8A. Computer-based search for homologous ORFs in all 17 genomes of Mycoplasmataceae family (the mycoplasmas themselves) that had been completely sequenced to date, gives negative result. But among the representatives of Mollicutes (mycoplasma) class, the genes coding alpha-HSPs were found in two Phytoplasma species (Phytoplasmataceae family) and the acholeplasma examined (Acholeplasmataceae family). It supposed that presence or absence of alpha-HSPs in microorganisms might be connected with the fact that representatives of Acholeplasmataceae and Phytoplasmataceae families inhabit principally in plant tissues in contrast to majority of Mycoplasmataceae family, that inhabit animal and human tissues, i. e. use ecological niches with relatively constant temperature.

Social context effects on facial activity in a negative emotional setting.

Evidence for A. J. Fridlund's (e.g.. 1994) "behavioral ecology view" of human facial expression comes primarily from studies of smiling in response to positive emotional stimuli. Smiling may be a special case because it clearly can, and often does serve merely communicative functions. The present experiment was designated (a) to assess the generalizability of social context effects to facial expressions in response to negative emotional stimuli and (b) to examine whether these effects are mediated by social motives, as suggested by the behavioral ecology view. Pairs of friends or strangers viewed film clips that elicited different degrees of sad affect, in either the same or a different room; a control group participated alone. Dependent variables included facial activity, subjective emotion, and social motives. Displays of sadness were influenced by stimulus intensity and were lower in all social conditions than in the alone condition. Unexpectedly, social context effects were also found for smiling.

Ophthalmomyiasis interna posterior. Report of a case with optic atrophy.

PURPOSE: The prognosis for patients with ophthalmomyiasis Interna posterior is variable. In many patients the larva remains in the eye for years without inducing inflammation or loss of vision. Sometimes, however, the migrating larva involves the macula and optic nerve and results in permanent visual loss or even blindness. METHODS: Our patient presented with sudden painless loss of vision in the right eye that was caused by ophthalmomyiasis interna posterior. Hemorrhage of the optic nerve head suggested that the fly larva had entered the vitreous cavity from the optic nerve head. Subretinal tracts were sequelae of the subretinal migration of the organism. Sequential photographs documented the fly larva migration into the optic nerve head head from the vitreous cavity. The organism was removed by pars plana vitrectomy and retinectomy. RESULTS: In spite of the successful removal of the first stage fly larva, the visual acuity remained poor because of optic nerve atrophy. CONCLUSION: We suggest early removal of fly larvae to prevent damage and visual loss in cases of ocular myiasis interna posterior.

Expression of sodium-linked nucleoside transport activity in monolayer cultures of IEC-6 intestinal epithelial cells.

Mature, confluent monolayer cultures of IEC-6 rat intestinal epithelial cells in conventional growth media express both Na(+)-linked, concentrative nucleoside transport (NT) activity and equilibrative, inhibitor-sensitive NT activity, but do not show morphologic differentiation. Na(+)-dependent fluxes of Ado and formycin B were minor in early subconfluent IEC-6 monolayers, but increased severalfold to become the major component of influx of these agents in confluent monolayers grown in medium containing Nu-Serum, a commercial medium supplement with a low serum content. In monolayers cultured in medium with fetal bovine serum, cell proliferation rates were similar to those in medium supplemented with Nu-Serum, but expression of Na(+)-linked NT activity was 6-8-fold lower than in monolayers grown in the latter medium. Inclusion of hydrocortisone in growth medium with Nu-Serum caused a 2-fold increase in the expression of Na(+)-linked NT activity. Experiments in which components of medium supplementation were withheld showed that insulin and epidermal growth factor were important in expression of the Na(+)-linked NT activity. Because the Na(+)-linked NT system has a brush border location in fresh intestinal epithelium, it is concluded that the regulated expression of this activity in the IEC-6 monolayers is a differentiative change.

Sodium-dependent, concentrative nucleoside transport in cultured intestinal epithelial cells.

In a simple salts medium, monolayers of IEC-6 intestinal cells achieved concentrations of unmetabolized formycin B (an analog of inosine) about 6-fold higher than in the medium. Rates of formycin B influx were a saturable function of Na+ concentrations in the medium. Although IEC-6 cells possess sites with high affinity for nitrobenzylthioinosine, a potent inhibitor of equilibrative (facilitated diffusion) nucleoside transport systems in certain cell types, the inhibitor had only minor effects on formycin B uptake in IEC-6 cells, but reduced efflux of the analog from these cells. These findings indicate the joint presence in IEC-6 cells of nucleoside transporters of two types, one that is concentrative and Na+-dependent, and another that is sensitive to nitrobenzylthioinosine and apparently equilibrative.

Photoaffinity labelling of a nitrobenzylthioinosine-binding polypeptide from cultured Novikoff hepatoma cells.

Site-specific binding of nitrobenzylthioinosine (NBMPR) to plasma membranes of some animal cells results in the inhibition of the facilitated diffusion of nucleosides. The present study showed that nucleoside transport in Novikoff UA rat hepatoma cells is insensitive to site-saturating concentrations of NBMPR. Equilibrium binding experiments demonstrated the presence of high-affinity sites for NBMPR in a membrane-enriched fraction from these cells. In the presence of uridine or dipyridamole, specific binding of NBMPR at these sites was inhibited. When Novikoff UA membranes were covalently labelled with [3H]NBMPR by using photoaffinity techniques, specifically bound radioactivity was incorporated exclusively into a polypeptide(s) with an apparent Mr of 72,000-80,000, determined by sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. Covalent labelling of this polypeptide was abolished in the presence of excess nitrobenzylthioguanosine (NBTGR) and reduced in the presence of adenosine, uridine or dipyridamole. The apparent Mr of the NBMPR-binding polypeptide in Novikoff UA cells is significantly higher than that reported for corresponding polypeptides in other cell types (Mr 45,000-66,000). When membrane-enriched preparations from S49 mouse lymphoma cells were photolabelled and mixed with labelled NovikoffUA membrane-enriched preparations, gel electrophoresis resolved the NBMPR-binding polypeptides from the two preparations.

Manipulation of toxicity and tissue distribution of tubercidin in mice by nitrobenzylthioinosine 5'-monophosphate.

The i.v. administration of tubercidin, an analog of adenosine, in a single dose of 45 mg/kg caused death in about 90% of B10D2F1 mice so treated. Serum and urine analysis, as well as histological examination of tissues, related the lethality of tubercidin to hepatic injury, which was markedly reduced when mice were treated with the inhibitor of nucleoside transport, nitrobenzylthioinosine 5'-monophosphate (NBMPR-P), at i.p. doses higher than 10 mg/kg 30 min prior to tubercidin injection. With high NBMPR-P doses (100 mg/kg, i.p.) followed by tubercidin injection (45 mg/kg, i.v.), kidney damage and high mortality occurred. The tissue distribution of 3H following (( G-3H]tubercidin administration paralleled hepatic or renal injury: NBMPR-P treatment decreased the content of tubercidin-derived 3H in liver and increased that in kidney. Furthermore, the half-life of the decline in tubercidin levels in serum during the first minute after[3H]tubercidin administration was longer in NBMPR-P-treated mice (26 sec) than in untreated mice (10 sec), with the result that 3H levels in serum were more than ten times higher in the former than in the latter at an early stage during the distribution of tubercidin. Within 15 min after i.p. administration, the tissue distribution of (( 3H]tubercidin was complete. The i.p. administration of tubercidin caused ascites and the appearance of amylase in the peritoneal fluid evidently because of peritonitis and pancreatic injury. Administration of NBMPR-P by the i.p. route, but not by the i.v. route, prevented these injuries and shifted the LD50 of i.p. injected tubercidin (5 mg/kg) to markedly higher values (a 4-fold increase with NBMPR-P at 100 mg/kg). The protection of mice by NBMPR-P against lethal injuries caused by i.p. injected tubercidin was consistent with the inhibition by NBMPR-P of tubercidin accumulation in mesentery and pancreas. The tissue specificity of the NBMPR-P influence on the tissue distribution of tubercidin may reflect differences in NBMPR-P pharmacokinetics and/or in properties of the nucleoside permeation mechanism among various tissues.

Treatment of mouse neoplasms with high doses of tubercidin.

Previous studies from this laboratory demonstrated that a potent inhibitor of nucleoside transport, nitrobenzylthioinosine (NBMPR), protected cultured cells against cytotoxic nucleosides (nebularine, tubercidin, and toyocamycin). NBMPR and its 5'-monophosphate (NBMPR-P) also protected mice against potentially lethal dosage of these agents. This report describes protection of mice from potentially lethal dosages of tubercidin by administration of NBMPR-P and the use of combinations of these agents in treatments of mice bearing transplanted neoplasms. Treatment of mice bearing i.p. implants of the Ehrlich ascites carcinoma, leukemia L1210/TG8, and colon carcinoma 26 with potentially lethal dosages of tubercidin administered together with host-protecting dosages of NBMPR-P resulted in substantial kill of neoplastic cells and long-term survivors. In these experiments, therapeutic effects were achieved at optimal dosages of NBMPR-P, which protected host vital tissues but did not protect neoplastic cells in ascitic fluids (Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells and leukemia L1210/TG8 cells). However, at supraoptimal dosages of NBMPR-P, the occurrence of therapeutic failures which were neoplastic deaths indicated that NBMPR-P also protected the neoplastic ascites cells against tubercidin cytotoxicity. Thus, the selectivity of tubercidin toxicity toward cells of the Ehrlich ascites carcinoma and leukemia L1210/TG8 was modified by NBMPR-P dosage.

Drug sequence-dependent toxicity and small bowel mucosal injury in mice treated with low doses of 3-deazauridine and 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine.

The toxicity to mice of combinations of 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine and 3-deazauridine was investigated. The drugs were administered daily i.p. on Days 1 to 5, each drug at 10 mg/kg body weight; these dosages are small fractions of the dosages at which 10% of the treated animals died when either drug was administered alone on the foregoing schedule. This drug combination was severely toxic when 3-deazauridine was administered 2 to 8 hr prior to 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine; most mice treated in this way died within 3 days of the last treatment. Histological examination showed that severe damage to the small bowel mucosa resulted from treatment with the drugs in the above, lethal sequence. In contrast, treatments with this drug combination at the same dosages were tolerated when the two agents were administered simultaneously or when 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine preceded 3-deazauridine. Under the latter conditions, small bowel mucosal injury was much less severe. Female mice were more sensitive to the toxic treatment regimen than were male mice and were protected against the latter when either the 3-deazauridine or the 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine component was preceded by treatment with nitrobenzylthioinosine (100 mg/kg), a potent inhibitor of nucleoside transport.

Interdisciplinary inpatient warfarin education program.

An educational program on warafarin counseling for inpatients of a 200--bed community hospital which uses both pharmacy and nursing personnel is described. Following a physician's request for the educational service, a registered nurse arranged for the patient to view a slide presentation of anticoagultants and provided a booklet designed to reinforce the learning objectives for the warfarin education program. After the patient viewed the film and read the booklet, a pharmacist or nurse made a follow-up visit to answer questions and reinforce the objectives. The checklist of learning objectives was completed by the pharmacist or nurse and remained in the patient's chart as a permanent record of medication counseling. Forty-five request for warfarin patient education were received during the program's first six months of operation. The pharmacist spent an average of 30 minutes with each patient; the nurse spent an average of 15 to 20 minutes with each patient. The average time required of nursing and pharmacy service to provide the program was one and two hours per week, respectively. The warfarin education program provides an important patient service with a reasonable expenditure of time by pharmacy and nursing personnel.