To evaluate acute quality of life (QOL) for patients with locally advanced squamous cell cancer of the head and neck (SCCHN) treated with a novel chemoirradiation regimen. Eligible patients with Stage III or IV SCCHN of oropharynx, hypopharynx or larynx (excluding N2c, N3, and M1 disease) received hyperfractionated intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) with attempted sparing of contralateral parotid gland. High-risk planning target volume (PTV) was prescribed to receive 1.25 Gy bid-70 Gy. Intermediate and low-risk PTVs received 60 Gy and 50 Gy, respectively, at lower doses per fraction bid utilizing a single IMRT plan. Concurrent chemotherapy consisted of cisplatin 33 mg/meter2/week. Validated QOL tool consisted of 39 questions: 24 general, 1 overall, and 14 head and neck specific, 2 of which addressed swallowing function. Patients completed QOL questionnaires prior to treatment (PRE), at end of treatment (EOT), at month 1 (MO1) and month 3 (MO3) following completion. Worsening QOL was defined as >50% reduction in mean QOL score compared to PRE. Among 39 patients enrolled, 35 were evaluable, having completed chemoirradiation course and first three QOL questionnaires. Twenty-seven (77%) patients were white, 7 (20%) were African American, and 1 (3%) was Native American. Mean age was 55 years and 29 patients (83%) were male. Twenty-two (63%) patients had Stage IV disease. General mean QOL score was 7.7 PRE, decreasing to 6.2 EOT, then returning to 7.0 MO1 and 7.5 MO3. Head and neck specific mean QOL was 7.8 PRE, decreasing to 3.9 EOT, then rising to 6.1 MO1 and 6.8 MO3. Swallowing QOL was most affected by this regimen: 7.6 PRE, decreasing to 3.4 EOT, then returning to 6.1 MO1 and 7.3 MO3. Among 35 patients completing MO1 questionnaire, three (9%) had persistent worsening head and neck QOL and 7 (20%) had worsening swallowing QOL. Among 31 patients completing MO3 questionnaire by time of this abstract, 2 (6%) had persistent worsening head and neck QOL and 4 (13%) had worsening swallowing QOL. Hyperfractionated IMRT with concurrent weekly cisplatin for locally advanced SCCHN resulted in acute decrement in both general and head and neck specific QOL. Swallowing QOL was most profoundly affected. However, mean QOL scores improved in all categories by 1 month and returned at or near baseline by 3 months post-treatment for most patients. Long-term QOL as well as survival analysis for this phase II trial will be reported upon further patient follow-up.

Bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein (BPI) is a member of the pattern recognition receptors of the innate immune system and recognizes lipopolysaccharides (LPS), a bacterial component belonging to the pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). BPI mediates the neutralization of LPS and increases the phagocytosis and cytotoxicity against bacteria. Recently, the functionally effective polymorphism A645G resulting in the amino acid alteration Lys216Glu has been described. The aim of the study was to investigate the association of the A645G polymorphism with chronic periodontal disease.The study population comprised 123 patients with periodontal disease (36 with mild, 52 with moderate and 35 with severe periodontitis) and 122 healthy, unrelated control individuals. Genotyping of the BPI gene polymorphism A645G (Lys216Glu) was performed by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Statistical analysis was carried out employing the chi(2) test with Yates correction.Genotype and allele frequencies of the polymorphism tested herein showed no significant differences between periodontal disease as compared to the control group. The frequencies of the G allele were 52.4% in patients with periodontal disease and 49.2% in the control individuals (P = 0.528). Moreover, no significant associations could be detected after stratification for disease severity and according to gender.The present study does not give evidence for the contribution of the BPI gene to the genetic background of chronic periodontal disease.

By K-O Haustein, Springer-Verlag, 2002, 446 pages, US $99, ISBN: 3540440313 (translated from the German original) Writing a single volume on the most researched topic in biomedical history is no small undertaking. Numerous volumes on specific disease consequences of smoking have been published by medical authors from around the world. But I know of no comprehensive review that does as thorough a job as this book. In 14 central chapters, the author thoroughly reviews the literature on a wide and growing list of subjects related to tobacco use and its consequences. Though the author is clearly aiming the book at clinicians and medically literate readers, …

The passage of tobacco control laws: Thai Davids versus transnational tobacco Goliaths . Hatai Chitanondh. Bangkok: Thailand Health Promotion Institute, 2000. ISBN 974-87628-5-8. 190 pages. Available through IDRC, 250 Albert Street, PO Box 8500, Ottawa, Ontario K1G 3H9, Canada. Case study report: global analysis project on the political economy of tobacco control in low- and middle-income countries . J Patrick Vaughan, Jeff Collin, and Kelley Lee, eds. London: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 2000. ISBN 0 902657 67 4 . 150 pages. Project sponsored by the Tobacco Free Initiative, WHO Geneva. One should not miss the chance to understand processes of strong policy formulation. These two books give ample opportunity for comparison and thoughtfulness about policy making. Both deal with tobacco control policy issues and Thailand, making them particularly useful in Asia and for low to middle income countries. Hatai Chitanondh has put together a personal retrospective tracing events over the nearly three years (1989-92) it took to pass two Thai comprehensive tobacco control laws. This occurred during and after Thailand resisted the 301 provision on the US Trade Act threatening trade retaliation if Thailand failed …

“Asia cannot afford to repeat the North American cycle of tragedy from tobacco company aggression. In truth, hundreds of millions of Asians alive today depend on what you do today . . . against tobacco.” These were the words of Dr Prakit Vateesatokit of Thailand, as he received one of the first Luther Terry Awards for outstanding achievements in tobacco control, at the world conference in Chicago in August. One response to the challenge is being provided by the Rockefeller Foundation, which has …

The Drosophila protein PEP (protein on ecdysone puffs), a component hnRNP complexes, was previously immunocytologically localized on Drosophila giant chromosomes to puffs induced by ecdysone and to some heat shock-induced puffs (e.g. at the hsp70 locus at 87A7). Here, PEP was purified to homogeneity and characterized in its DNA and RNA binding features with specific reference to the hsp70 locus. In southwestern blotting assays, PEP was found to bind with high affinity to the hsp70 coding region, but not to a flanking region nor to the boundary elements scs and scs', and non-specifically to the intergenic hsp70 SAR. In UV cross-linking assays, PEP binds with even higher affinity to hsp70 transcripts, but not to transcripts of a flanking region or of a nearby gene, aurora . Finally, competition experiments indicate that PEP recognizes specific sequences within hsp70 mRNA; in these sequences two distinct motifs were found to be enriched. In summary, our results suggest the recognition of specific transcripts as a molecular basis for the association of the protein with specific hnRNP complexes.

Haploids in maize, Zea mays L., are relatively infrequent, but have continually been considered potential tools for the development of fixed inbred lines or as vehicles of cytoplasmic transfer. This study was undertaken to develop an efficient method for the production of androgenetic haploids in maize. A novel modification of the indeterminate gametophyte (ig) system was developed and the resulting frequency of androgenetic haploids investigated. The method combines the traditional genetic behavior of the ig allele with a tertiary trisomic (3 3 B‐‐3Ld) stock in modified W23 background. Maintenance and generation of ig homozygotes are greatly simplified. The frequency of haploid generation has been elevated to as high as 8% utilizing inbreds of Lancaster heritage. The C, S, SD, Vg, ME, MY, CA, L, and Q cytoplasmic male‐sterile stocks, homozygous for ig and of similar background to the tertiary trisomic stock, are also discussed. Development of a 3(ig) 3(ig) B‐3Ld(Ig) tertiary trisomic stock in an improved modified W23 background should simplify the production of androgenetic haploids and facilitate the exchange of male‐sterile cytoplasm into inbred lines of maize. This stock has potential use in experiments involving wide hybridizations between maize, teosinte [Zea mays subsp, mexicana (Schrader) Iltis], and eastern gamagrass [Tripsacum dactyloides (L.) L.]