Faculty Bibliography

The show stopped. In a test of the crew's agility and ingenuity, [Gary Razon] supervised the eight stewards it took to dislodge the woman and carry her to the infirmary. Razon said he 'was so scared because the ship was bouncing and feared she might be bleeding from the hip fracture.' Razon could not reach the nephews. From other calls, he learned that the passenger's mother also was also demented. Her nurse provided the name of the woman's psychiatrist, who was skiing. Razon could not reach the covering physician and sent the woman to a hospital after the ship docked in Nassau. A colleague who was a ship's doctor whetted Razon's appetite for a chance to see the world while practising medicine. Razon said he has travelled to many areas but has had less time ashore than he had expected. Still, he said, 'Being a ship's doctor is an offer I cannot refuse.'

As a cruise ship physician, Dr. Gary Razon's most harrowing moments are when passengers and crew become injured or seriously ill hundreds of kilometers from shore. Sudden life-threatening emergencies like internal bleeding, heart attacks, strokes and broken bones can leave little, if any, time to divert a ship to the nearest port. The challenge for a ship's doctor is to stabilize a patient until the ship reaches land. Razon could not reach the nephews. From other calls, he learned that the passenger's mother also was also demented. Her nurse provided the name of the woman's psychiatrist, who was skiing. Razon could not reach the covering physician and sent the woman to a hospital after the ship docked in Nassau. He became a ship's doctor after a colleague, who was one, whetted his appetite about the chance to see the world while practicing medicine. Razon said he had traveled to many areas but with less time ashore than he had expected. Still, Razon said, 'Being a ship's doctor is an offer I cannot refuse.'

Last year, a woman broke her hip in a storm between Hawaii and the mainland. ''A really wide lady came down the steps trying to find a seat in the darkened show lounge when the ship lurched and she fell, landing between a railing and a wall,'' Dr. [Gary Razon] said. Summoned to the scene, Dr. Razon found that ''she was literally wedged in, screaming in pain.'' The show stopped. In a test of the crew's agility and ingenuity, Dr. Razon supervised the eight stewards it took to dislodge the woman and carry her to the infirmary. Dr. Razon said he ''was so scared because the ship was bouncing and feared she might be bleeding from the hip fracture.'' Dr. Razon could not reach the nephews. From other calls, he learned that the passenger's mother also was also demented. Her nurse provided the name of the woman's psychiatrist, who was skiing. Dr. Razon could not reach the covering physician and sent the woman to a hospital after the ship docked in Nassau

Many questions remain about the process of DNA double strand break (DSB) repair by homologous recombination (HR), particularly concerning the exact function played by individual proteins and the details of specific steps in this process. Some recent studies have shown that RecQ DNA helicases have a function in HR. We studied the role of the RecQ helicase Rqh1 with HR proteins in the repair of a DSB created at a unique site within the Schizosaccharomyces pombe genome. We found that DSBs in rqh1(+) cells, are predominantly repaired by interchromosomal gene conversion, with HR between sister chromatids [sister-chromatid conversion (SCC)], occurring less frequently. In Deltarqh1 cells, repair by SCC is favored, and gene conversion rates slow significantly. When we limited the potential for SCC in Deltarqh1 cells by reducing the length of the G2 phase of the cell cycle, DSB repair continued to be predominated by SCC, whereas it was essentially eliminated in wild-type cells. These data indicate that Rqh1 acts to regulate DSB repair by blocking SCC. Interestingly, we found that this role for Rqh1 is independent of its helicase activity. In the course of these studies, we also found nonhomologous end joining to be largely faithful in S. pombe, contrary to current belief. These findings provide insight into the regulation of DSB repair by RecQ helicases.

PPD encompasses a wide spectrum of manifestations that are often overlooked and left untreated. The article's failure to discuss some of the most common symptoms, such as panic attacks and obsessive-compulsive thoughts and behaviors, does a grave disservice to mothers-to-be and sufferers of PPD.

For now, the Mayo researchers hypothesize that shock wave therapy for kidney stones increases the risk for diabetes by damaging the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, a gland through which the shock waves may pass. They also theorize that shock waves may increase the risk for hypertension by scarring the kidneys and affecting their secretion of hormones, like renin, that can influence blood pressure. Her team did not want to release the findings early because the Mayo Clinic is one of a very few medical centers that still uses the same model lithotripter, Dornier HM3, in use in 1985, she said. Over the years, manufacturers have developed newer model machines that narrow the range of shock waves but that break up fewer stones. Because most urologists use the newer models, Dr. [Amy Krambeck] said, ''we can't say that every lithotripter causes'' the diabetes and hypertension complications. Mayo urologists discuss all alternatives for treating kidney stones with patients but use lithotripsy less than other procedures, Dr. Krambeck said. After learning the results of their study, the doctors began informing patients who were considering lithotripsy about ''correlations with possible side effects'' but without specifying which ones or the data, she said. Now they will provide that information

The science on the H5N1 bird flu virus may not support these conclusions. Two important studies published just last month in top science journals show that this bird flu virus is still multiple mutations away from being able to pass easily among humans. This bird flu appears to be better absorbed by the deep pockets of bird lungs, whereas human flu is absorbed by the cells of our upper airways. Dr. David Swayne, director of the Southeast Poultry Laboratory at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has worked on avian influenza for many years. He takes all highly pathogenic bird flus seriously, including H5N1, but he feels they can most often be controlled. Swayne told me that H5N1 might still be eradicated in birds with the help of 'better diagnostic tools and improved strategies to protect birds from infection.'

The science on the H5N1 bird flu virus may not support these conclusions. Two important studies published just last month in top science journals show that this bird flu virus is still multiple mutations away from being able to pass easily among humans. This bird flu appears to be better absorbed by the deep pockets of bird lungs, whereas human flu is absorbed by the cells of our upper airways. Dr. David Swayne, director of the Southeast Poultry Laboratory at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has worked on avian influenza for many years. He takes all highly pathogenic bird flus seriously, including H5N1, but he feels they can most often be controlled. Swayne told me that H5N1 might still be eradicated in birds with the help of 'better diagnostic tools and improved strategies to protect birds from infection.'

Cats, tigers and leopards are known to have been infected with the virus in Asia and Europe. An author of the article, Dr. Albert Osterhaus, a virologist and veterinarian at Erasmus Medical Center, has performed experiments showing that cats can give the virus to other cats. But whether they do so in real life, and if so how often, is unknown. Among the many unknowns is how long cats can excrete the virus, the minimal amount of virus it takes to cause infection and whether cats can excrete the virus without developing signs of illness. Dogs, foxes, seals and other carnivores may be vulnerable to the H5N1 virus, Osterhaus said. Tests in Thailand have shown the virus has infected dogs without causing apparent symptoms

Histone amino termini are post-translationally modified by both transcriptional coactivators and corepressors, but the extent to which the relevant histone modifications contribute to gene expression, and the mechanisms by which they do so, are incompletely understood. To address this issue, we have examined the contributions of the histone H3 and H4 amino termini, and of the coactivator and histone acetyltransferase Gcn5p, to activation of a small group of Gcn4p-activated genes. The histone H3 tail exerts a modest (about 2-fold) but significant effect on activation that correlates with a requirement for Gcn5p and is distributed over multiple lysine residues. The H4 tail also plays a positive role in activation of some of those genes tested, but this does not correlate as closely with Gcn5p coactivation. Microarray experiments did not reveal a close correspondence between those genes activated by Gcn4p and genes requiring the H3 or H4 tail, and analysis of published microarray data indicates that Gcn4p-regulated genes are not in general strongly dependent on Gcn5p. However, a large fraction of genes activated by Gcn4p were found to be repressed by the H3 and H4 amino termini under non-inducing conditions, indicating that one role for Gcn4p is to overcome repression mediated by the histone tails