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R Hawley

Publications and source records attributed to R Hawley.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

GermOnline, a cross-species community knowledgebase on germ cell differentiation.

GermOnline provides information and microarray expression data for genes involved in mitosis and meiosis, gamete formation and germ line development across species. The database has been developed, and is being curated and updated, by life scientists in cooperation with bioinformaticists. Information is contributed through an online form using free text, images and the controlled vocabulary developed by the GeneOntology Consortium. Authors provide up to three references in support of their contribution. The database is governed by an international board of scientists to ensure a standardized data format and the highest quality of GermOnline's information content. Release 2.0 provides exclusive access to microarray expression data from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Rattus norvegicus, as well as curated information on approximately 700 genes from various organisms. The locus report pages include links to external databases that contain relevant annotation, microarray expression and proteome data. Conversely, the Saccharomyces Genome Database (SGD), S.cerevisiae GeneDB and Swiss-Prot link to the budding yeast section of GermOnline from their respective locus pages. GermOnline, a fully operational prototype subject-oriented knowledgebase designed for community annotation and array data visualization, is accessible at http://www.germonline.org. The target audience includes researchers who work on mitotic cell division, meiosis, gametogenesis, germ line development, human reproductive health and comparative genomics.

Animals↗

Bone marrow transplantation from alpha1,3-galactosyltransferase gene-knockout pigs in baboons.

BACKGROUND: Successful hematopoietic cell allotransplantation results in donor-specific tolerance, but this approach has been unsuccessful in the wild-type pig-to-baboon xenotransplantation model, as pig cells were lost from the circulation within 5 days. However, after cessation of immunosuppressive therapy on day 28, all baboons demonstrated non-specific unresponsiveness on mixed leukocyte reaction (MLR) for at least 30 days. We have now investigated the transplantation of bone marrow (BM) cells from miniature swine homozygous for alpha1,3-galactosyltransferase gene-knockout (GalT-KO). METHODS: Baboons (n = 3) were pre-treated with whole body and thymic irradiation, anti-thymocyte globulin, and splenectomy, and received immunosuppressive and supportive therapy for 28 days. BM was harvested from GalT-KO swine (n = 3). The baboons were monitored for the presence of pig cells by flow cytometry and colony-forming units (CFUs), and for cellular reactivity by MLR. RESULTS: A mean of 11 x 10(8) BM cells/kg was infused into each baboon. The mean absolute numbers and percentages of pig cells detected in the blood at 2 h and on days 1, 2 and 4, respectively, were 641/microl (9.5%), 132/microl (3.4%), 242/microl (3.9%), and 156/microl (2.9%). One baboon died (from accidental hemorrhage) on day 6, at which time chimerism was present in the blood (2.0%) and BM (6.4%); pig cell engraftment in the BM was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of CFUs. In the two other baboons, blood chimerism was lost after day 5 but returned at low levels (<1%) between days 9 to 16 and 7 to 17, respectively, indicating transient BM engraftment. Both surviving baboons showed non-specific unresponsiveness on MLR until they were euthanized on days 85 and 110, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: By using BM cells from GalT-KO pigs, chimerism was detected at levels comparable with previous studies when 30-fold more growth factor-mobilized peripheral blood progenitor cells had been transplanted. In addition, cellular hyporesponsiveness was prolonged. However, long-term engraftment and chimerism were not achieved.

Animals↗

Needs of the older patient in the intensive care unit following heart surgery.

Cardiac surgery among older people is becoming commonplace in Australia. However, there is little evidence that critical care nursing management has addressed the unique needs of this patient population during the postoperative recovery stage. Their specific physiologic and psychological differences identify them as having particular needs in regard to nursing care. For many years, cardiac patients were carefully screened and only those who had reduced risk factors were considered for surgery. Now there are increasing referrals of older patients with a range of conditions and increased risk factors. These people present with more difficult surgical problems and tend to have a complicated postoperative period. As a result they are proving to be a clinical management challenge. In light of the evidence presented, clear examination of the unique needs of the very elderly during the immediate postoperative phase is suggested to provide the basis for a comprehensive overhaul of patient management with positive implications for standards of care.

Aged↗

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA): is there a need to change clinical practice?

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a virulent organism that causes significant mortality and morbidity especially to patients in critical care areas (CCAs). MRSA can (and does in some cases) also contribute to an increased length of hospital stay and higher health care costs. The literature proposes that routine screening of patients in CCAs is an effective strategy to control MRSA. Furthermore, placing patients in contact isolation until screening results are confirmed can prevent the spread of MRSA. The policies for management of MRSA patients and the incidence of MRSA infection vary widely. The preliminary findings from this review suggest that a uniform policy regarding routine screening and infection control management for all CCA patients should be recommended. A uniform policy has the potential to reduce rates of infection, cross-contamination and associated health costs attributed to MRSA management. However, further research is required before changes to infection control policy can be recommended. The outcomes from this review will be used to increase staff awareness of current infection control practices for MRSA patients in critical care areas and encourage further research.

Cost Control↗

The Drosophila ATM homologue Mei-41 has an essential checkpoint function at the midblastula transition.

BACKGROUND: Drosophila embryogenesis is initiated by 13 rapid syncytial mitotic divisions that do not require zygotic gene activity. This maternally directed cleavage phase of development terminates at the midblastula transition (MBT), at which point the cell cycle slows dramatically, membranes surround the cortical nuclei to form a cellular blastoderm, and zygotic gene expression is first required. RESULTS: We show that embryos lacking Mei-41, a Drosophila homologue of the ATM tumor suppressor, proceed through unusually short syncytial mitoses, fail to terminate syncytial division following mitosis 13, and degenerate without forming cells. A similar cleavage-stage arrest is produced by mutations in grapes, which encodes a homologue of the Checkpoint-1 kinase. We present biochemical, cytological and genetic data indicating that Mei-41 and Grapes are components of a conserved DNA-replication/damage checkpoint pathway that triggers inhibitory phosphorylation of the Cdc2 kinase and mediates resistance to replication inhibitors and DNA-damaging agents. This pathway is nonessential during postembryonic development, but it is required to terminate the cleavage stage at the MBT. Cyclins are required for Cdc2 kinase activity, and mutations in cyclin A and cyclin B bypass the requirement for mei-41 at the MBT. These mutations do not restore wild-type syncytial cell-cycle timing or the embryonic replication checkpoint, however, suggesting that Mei-41-mediated inhibition of Cdc2 has an additional essential function at the MBT. CONCLUSIONS: The Drosophila DNA-replication/damage checkpoint pathway can be activated by externally triggered DNA damage or replication defects throughout the life cycle, and under laboratory conditions this inducible function is nonessential. During early embryogenesis, however, this pathway is activated by developmental cues and is required for the transition from maternal to zygotic control of development at the MBT.

Animals↗

OKT 3 reaction in a renal transplant patient.

In this case, the intended patient outcomes were achieved. Nursing was clearly able to take a very proactive role in providing the necessary emergency patient care to prevent further patient compromise. Once the immediate physiologic danger of respiratory decompensation was treated, nursing moved on to intervene in the less-serious complications associated with OKT 3 reaction to assure maximal patient comfort. Finally, patient teaching was done both to assess the learning needs associated with the OKT 3 reaction, as well as to prepare the patient and family for administration of additional doses of OKT 3. These nursing actions resulted in a very favorable outcome for both the patient and family.

Humans↗

Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression. A discriminant analysis, using 'lifetime' psychopathology ratings.

Discriminant and canonical variate analyses were performed using 302 patients, on whom ratings of lifetime psychopathology and course of illness has been made. DSM-III diagnoses were used to form the criterion groups. Bipolar disorder emerged as a distinct grouping, but there are reasons for dissatisfaction with its definition. The remaining patients formed a 'schizodepressive continuum', but this also had a tendency to bimodality. It is possible that the distinction between schizophrenia and depression was obscured by inadequacies in the data and the inclusion of excessive numbers of patients with schizoaffective depression in this study.

Adolescent↗

Clonal contributions of small numbers of retrovirally marked hematopoietic stem cells engrafted in unirradiated neonatal W/Wv mice.

Mice were repopulated with small numbers of retrovirally marked hematopoietic cells operationally definable as totipotent hematopoietic stem cells, without engraftment of cells at later stages of hematopoiesis, in order to facilitate analysis of stem cell clonal histories. This result depended upon the use of unirradiated W/Wv newborn recipients. Before transplantation, viral integration markers were introduced during cocultivation of fetal liver or bone marrow cells with helper cell lines exporting defective recombinant murine retroviruses of the HHAM series. Omission of selection in culture [although the vector contained the bacterial neomycin-resistance (neo) gene] also limited the proportion of stem cells that were virally labeled. Under these conditions, engraftment was restricted to a small population of marked and unmarked normal donor stem cells, due to their competitive advantage over the corresponding defective cells of the mutant hosts. A relatively simple and coherent pattern emerged, of one or a few virally marked clones, in contrast to previous studies. In order to establish the totipotent hematopoietic stem cell identity of the engrafted cells, tissues were sampled for viral and inbred-strain markers for periods close to one year after transplantation. The virally labeled clones were characterized as stem cell clones by their extensive self-renewal and by formation of the wide range of myeloid and lymphoid lineages tested. Results clearly documented concurrent contributions of cohorts of stem cells to hematopoiesis. A given stem cell can increase or decrease its proliferative activity, become completely inactive or lost, or become active after a long latent period. The contribution of a single clone present in a particular lineage was usually between 5% and 20%.

Animals↗

Intracisternal A-particle genes as movable elements in the mouse genome.

We analyzed two functionally defective mouse kappa light chain gene variants previously shown to contain novel insertions of repetitive DNA in their intervening sequences [Hawley, R. G., Shulman, M. J., Murialdo, H., Gibson, D. M. & Hozumi, N. (1982) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 79, 7425-7429]. Heteroduplex analysis of the cloned genes shows that the insertions consist of intracisternal A-particle (IAP) genetic elements. Each insertion includes an IAP 5' long terminal repeat (LTR) sequence and extends to a characteristic IAP internal BamHI site where the IAP sequence is interrupted because the mutant genes were cloned from complete BamHI digests of the cellular DNAs. Restriction enzyme mapping indicates that the 5' LTR boundaries of the inserted IAP elements correspond closely to the previously determined rearrangement sites in the mutant genes. The IAP insertions in the two mutants can be distinguished by restriction-site differences and by the fact that one of them contains a deletion that is absent in the other. Nucleotide sequence data are presented for the LTRs of one full-length IAP gene copy randomly selected from a mouse genomic DNA library. These LTRs show many features typical of known integrated retroviral terminal repeat units, and the entire gene is bracketed by short direct repeats within the adjacent cellular DNA. Thus, the findings show that IAP genetic elements can appear in new locations in mouse cellular DNA and suggest that this may occur through a process of proviral insertion.

Animals↗

Dysgerminoma with giant cells. A case report with immunoperoxidase.

A 15-year-old female with a positive pregnancy test was found to have a large ovarian tumor. Histology revealed a pure dysgerminoma with unusual giant cells, reminiscent of syncytiotrophoblast. PAP immunoperoxidase to the beta subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) was performed on tumor sections. HCG was demonstrated within and confined to the giant cells. All studies for alpha-fetoprotein were negative. The use of immunoperoxidase in the evaluation of tumor markers and in the management of this unique tumor is discussed.

Adolescent↗

Seasons of grief.

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Adaptation, Psychological↗