Behavioral health care integration in obstetrics and gynecology

Depression, anxiety, and somatoform disorders are 2 to 3 times more prevalent in women than in men. Since the advent of managed care and other pressures on the healthcare delivery system in the United States, there has been a notable diminishment of services and service funding for treatment of mental health conditions, whether they are temporary, transitional, or chronic. As a result of this trend, we have seen an increase in the number of patients seeking help for emotional and mental health concerns from their family doctors or, in the case of women, from their obstetrician-gynecologists. We have also found that emotional and mental health problems are often converted into physical symptomatology that carries fewer stigmas and is often viewed as easier to treat. Many women use their obstetrician-gynecologists for primary care, particularly during their reproductive years. Provision of behavioral healthcare is critical to health maintenance for many of these women. Barriers to the integration of behavioral healthcare into obstetrics and gynecology practice need to be understood and systemically addressed.     

Leaf temperature of desert sand dune plants: perspectives on the adaptability of leaf morphology

The leaf temperature of six annual and six perennial plant species was monitored during spring and summer on a sand dune ecosystem in the delta Mediterranean coast of Egypt. During winter, leaves of all tested perennial species attained temperatures higher than the air temperature at night and shortly after sunrise, with maximum leaf–air temperature differences reaching up to 8°C. The lowest differences were less than 1°C. Around noon, the leaves of several species attained temperatures lower than that of the air whereas others showed higher temperatures. The opposite was true during summer, when leaf temperatures were lower than air temperature. The maximum leaf–air temperature differences occurred after midnight towards sunrise and reached up to 10°C. The lowest differences were found around noon and were of less than 5°C. The annual plant species have more pronounced variations than perennials in their leaf temperatures during the night and for most of the day. The leaves were heated or cooled a few degrees above or below the air temperature. The results are discussed in relation to the morphological characters of the leaves. The variation in leaf temperature at different times of the day was significantly related to leaf morphology, specific leaf area, thickness, volume, leaf area index and the surrounding environment.     

Localization and Transport of N-Acetylaspartylglutamate in Cells of Whole Murine Brain in Primary Culture

Abstract: N -Acetylaspartylglutamate (NAAG) is the most abundant neuropeptide in the mammalian nervous system. Considerable data support the hypothesis that NAAG is synaptically released in a manner consistent with neurotransmission. Primary murine brain cultures containing neurons and glia expressed 1.2-3.5 nmol of NAAG/mg of protein. In contrast to conclusions drawn from immunohistochemistry, pure glial cultures also expressed high levels of NAAG (0.6-2.11 nmol/mg of protein). These data suggest that although a subpopulation of neurons contains very high NAAG levels, micromolar concentrations of the peptide also are present in glia. Both culture types demonstrated robust extracellular peptidase activity when incubated with NAAG, as well as peptide transport. Uptake of [³H]NAAG was both temperature and sodium dependent, yet relatively insensitive to the presence of extracellular glutamate. These results indicate that synaptically released NAAG, as well as that which may be released from glia, is removed from the extracellular space by direct uptake as well as the robust enzymatic degradation of the peptide. A kinetic analysis of this NAAG transport (estimated K _m= 1.8 μ M ) suggests a high-affinity NAAG transport system. The balance of the two processes of direct peptide uptake and peptide hydrolysis would markedly influence the sequence of receptor-mediated events that follow NAAG release.     

HLA frequencies, diabetes mellitus and autoimmunity in Turner's patients and their relatives.

In a preliminary study of twenty-three patients with gonadal dysgenesis (Turner's syndrome) and their families, correlation was sought between their serum defined HLA allele frequencies and their known tendencies toward abnormal immune responses and diabetes mellitus, since individuals with the latter disorders have been shown to have an increased frequency of certain HLA types. We were unable to demonstrate an association between these major serum-defined histocompatibility antigens, immune homeostasis disturbances and sex chromosome aneuploidy in this group. It is felt, however, that testing involving the patterns of HLA-D and "HLA-D related" antigen frequencies should be obtained to further evaluate the possibility of such an association.     

Isolation and characterization of rat ribosomal DNA clones

Four EcoRI fragments, which contain the transcribed portion of the rat rDNA repeat, have been isolated from a rat genome library cloned in lambda Charon 4A vector. Three of the fragments, 9.6, 6.7, and 4.5 kb, from clones lambda ChR-B4, lambda Nr-42, and lambda ChR-C4B9, contained part of the 5'-NTS, the 5'-ETS, 18S rDNA, ITS-1, 5.8S rDNA, 28S rDNA and approximately 3.5 kb of the 3'-NTS. Two EcoRI fragments, from clones lambda ChR-B4 and lambda ChR-B7E12, which coded for the 5'-NTS, the ETS, and most of the 18S rDNA, differed by 1 kb near the EcoRI site upstream of the 5' terminus of 18S rRNA. Restriction maps of the cloned DNA fragments were constructed by cleavage of the fragments with various restriction endonucleases and Southern hybridization with 18S, 5.8S, and 28S rRNA. These maps were confirmed and extended by subcloning several regions of the repeat in pBR322.