Medical problems of adults who were sexually abused in childhood.

The aim of the study was to see whether adults who had been sexually abused in childhood were vulnerable to physical symptoms and therefore investigation and intervention. The case histories of seven patients who were aged 22-39, were under the care of three consultant psychiatrists, had experienced childhood sexual abuse, and had a history of medical or surgical intervention were surveyed. The patients had had a mean of 18 contacts with non-psychiatric consultant teams and a mean of eight operations, with a high rate (66-70%) of normal findings. They had experienced many somatic symptoms, which led to investigations and interventions in the specialties of gynaecology, obstetrics, gastroenterology, urology, rheumatology, haematology, orthopaedics, neurology, and neuropsychiatry. The history of childhood sexual abuse was recognised only in the later stages of this medical and surgical intervention. The possibility of childhood sexual abuse should be considered earlier in such cases to prevent further unnecessary intervention.     

Chemical modification of the actin binding site of rabbit muscle aldolase by diethylpyrocarbonate

Summary To extend the available information on the significance of the interactions between glycolytic enzymes and the actin component of the cellular ultrastructure, investigations into the compositional characteristics of the actin binding site on one of the major glycolytic enzymes, aldolase, have been undertaken. As the electrostatic nature of the association has been previously reported indicative of a cationic region on the enzyme involved in the binding, these studies have investigated the possibility of the involvement of histidine residues in this binding region. By the use of the histidine specific reagent, diethylpyrocarbonate, we have been able to establish a difference in nature of an actin binding domain and the active site domain which does contain an essential histidine. The results have been discussed in relation to the significance of this finding with respect to the binding of aldolase to subcellular structure.     

Synthesis and hybridization of a series of biotinylated oligonucleotides.

A series of oligonucleotides containing biotin-11-dUMP at various positions were synthesized and compared in quantitative, colorimetric hybridization-detection studies. A deoxyuridine phosphoramidite containing a protected allylamino sidearm was synthesized and used in standard, automated synthesis cycles to prepare oligonucleotides with allylamino residues at various positions within a standard 17-base sequence. Biotin substituents were subsequently attached to the allylamino sidearms by reaction with N-biotinyl-6-aminocaproic acid N-hydroxysuccinimide ester. These oligomers were hybridized to target DNA immobilized on microtiter wells (ELISA plates), and were detected with a streptavidin-biotinylated horseradish peroxidase complex using hydrogen peroxide as substrate and o-phenylenediamine as chromogen. We found that the sensitivity of detection of target DNA by biotin-labeled oligonucleotide probes was strongly dependent upon the position of the biotin label. Oligonucleotides containing biotin labels near or off the ends of the hybridizing sequence were more effective probes than oligonucleotides containing internal biotin labels. An additive effect of increasing numbers of biotin-dUMP residues was found for some labeling configurations.     

The genetic structure of a primate species: Rhesus macaques and other Cercopithecine monkeys

Among rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta)and other cercopithecine monkeys, social groups occupying adjacent home ranges (i.e., members of the same local population) exchange individuals and genes and thus exhibit marked genetic similarities. To assess the degree to which this pattern extends beyond the local population, the genetic structure of M. mulattaand six other primate species was determined using Nei’s (1973) gene-diversity analysis. The genetic similarities seen among social groups in the Dunga Gali population of M. mulatta (Melnick et al.,1984a) can be seen over the entire species range. Comparison of these results with the structures of other similarly organized primate species indicates that (1) the average social group contains most of its local population’s genetic diversity, (2) the average local population contains the majority of the genetic diversity found in the region to which it belongs, and (3) the proportion of species gene diversity found in the average regional population varies substantially between species. Genetic homogeneity within local and regional populations is probably the product of gene flow. The application of a number of analytical models of selection and gene flow strongly suggests that gene flow, genetic drift, and zoogeography offer a more parsimonious and plausible explanation for interspecific variation in regional differentiation than does stabilizing selection.     

Attachment and multiplication,morphology and protein production of human fetal primary liver cells cultured in hormonally defined media

In Vitro Cellular &; Developmental Biology - Plant -     

Levels of chromosomally encoded Umu proteins and requirements for in vivo UmuD cleavage

Summary Most of the inducible mutagenesis observed in Escherichia coli after treatment with many DNA damaging agents is dependent upon the products of the umuD,C operon. RecA-mediated proteolytic processing of UmuD yields a carboxyl-terminal fragment (UmuD) that is active for mutagenesis. Processing of UmuD is therefore a critical step in the fixation of mutations. In this paper we have analyzed the requirements for UmuD processing in vivo. Standard immuno-detection assays, coupled with a sensitive chemiluminescence detection assay, have been utilized to probe levels of chromosomally encoded Umu proteins from whole-cell E. coli extracts. We found that the derepression of additional SOS gene products, other than RecA, was not required for UmuD processing. Moreover, efficient cleavage of UmuD was observed only in the presence of elevated levels of activated RecA, suggesting that efficient processing would occur only under conditions of severe DNA damage. Detection of chromosomally encoded Umu proteins has allowed us, for the first time, to measure directly the cellular steady-state levels of these proteins under various SOS inducing conditions. UmuD was present at 180 copies per uninduced cell and was measured at 2400 copies per cell in strains that lacked a functional repressor. Induced levels of UmuC were approximately 12-fold lower than UmuD with 200 molecules per cell. These levels of cellular UmuC protein suggest that it functions through specific protein-DNA or protein-protein interactions, possibly as a lesion recognition protein or by interacting with DNA polymerase III.