Prime Suspects Research Articles

Aetiology, pathogenesis, and pathology of cervical neoplasia.

Early epidemiological studies of cervical neoplasia suggested a causal relation with sexual activity and human papillomaviruses (HPVs) have emerged as prime suspects as venerally transmitted carcinogens. HPVs fall into two...

Subcellular localization and functional characterization of Nc-p43, a major Neospora caninum tachyzoite surface protein.

Neospora caninum is a recently identified coccidian parasite which shares many features with, but is clearly distinct from, Toxoplasma gondii. N. caninum tachyzoites infect a wide range of mammalian cells both in vivo and in vitro. The mechanisms by which infection is achieved are largely unknown. Recent evidence has suggested that a receptor-ligand system in which one or several host cell receptors bind to one or several parasite ligands is involved. Parasite cell surface-associated molecules such as the recently identified Nc-p43 antigen are prime suspects for being implicated in this physical interaction. In this study it is shown that invasion of Vero cell monolayers by N. caninum tachyzoites in vitro is impaired on incubation of parasites with subagglutinating amounts of affinity-purified antibodies directed against Nc-p43. Postembedding immunogold labeling with anti-Nc-p43 antibodies demonstrated that Nc-p43 is localized not only on the parasite cell surface but also within dense granules and rhoptries. The fate of Nc-p43 during intracellular proliferation of N. caninum tachyzoites and subsequent maturation of the parasitophorous vacuole was also studied.

WHISTLEBLOWING WITHOUT TEARS: THE EXPOSURE OF BRISBANE'S KING GEORGE SQUARE CAR PARK FRAUD

Abstract: This is essentially a “now it can be told” account of a massive fraud perpetrated on the Brisbane City Council in the mid‐1970s by six attendants in a council car park, who manipulated bundy clocks to falsify departure times on parking tickets surrendered by departing motorists. Because of bitter personal rivalry between two senior council officials, which was complicated by (i) strong support for one official at elected member level, (ii) the subsequently discovered domestic liaison of the latter official with one of the prime suspects, and (iii) bungling in the crown prosecutor's office leading to a judge's decision to throw out the initial conspiracy charge against the car park attendants, it seemed that they might be reinstated and resume stealing on a massive scale. A method of dealing effectively with the issue, involving “blowing the whistle” while protecting the identity of the whistleblowers, was therefore devised. As a result, the thieves were eventually charged and convicted individually. The senior official who advised against police investigation of the suspected fraud while concealing his relationship with a prime suspect was also punished. The paper concludes with a defence of the deception perpetrated by whistleblowers to protect themselves from possible retribution.

Airborne dispersal ofCecropia peltata L. (Moraceae) pollen, a neotropical species, in the vicinity of Caracas, Venezuela

In this paper, airborne dispersion of the pollen ofCecropia peltata L. (Moraceae) in a location close to the Equator is described. The Cecropias are fast-growing pioneer trees unique to the Neotropics, where they grow within a large altitude range, from Mexico to Brazil.Cecropia pollen was the most abundant grain throughout the year. The highest recovery occurred during April–May. As widely distributed members of the Moraceae family and because of their small pollen size, the Cecropias are prime suspects for being the source of inhalant allergens. The numbers ofCecropia airborne pollen grains that were recorded are well above those deemed necessary for human sensitization.

Molecular characterization of human and bovine rod photoreceptor cGMP phosphodiesterase α-subunit and chromosomal localization of the human gene

Defects in proteins that function in photoreceptor signal transduction are prime suspects as causes of some human hereditary retinal degenerations. We have characterized cDNA clones encoding the α-subunit of human and bovine rod cell cGMP phosphodiesterase, a key phototransduction enzyme. Clones from both species contain an open reading frame capable of coding for an ∼100-kDa polypeptide of 859 amino acids, 94% of which are identical. Two or more transcripts were detected in both human and bovine retinal poly(A) + RNA preparations, although the human transcripts ranging from 5.3 to 4.9 kb are significantly larger than the two bovine transcripts of 4.6 and 4.0 kb. The bovine and human genes appear to exist in single copy, with the bovine gene spanning more than 140 kb of genomic DNA. Somatic cell hybrids were used to map the human gene to the long arm of chromosome 5 (5q31.2→134). Finally, the use of the candidate gene approach in the study of hereditary retinal dystrophies is discussed.

ANALYSIS OF THE AAVSO LIGHT CURVES OF 21 DWARF NOVAE.

ABSTRACT The authors report the measurement of all observed outbursts of 21 dwarf novae during a three-year interval (JD2442300 - JD2443300), using the data records of the AAVSO. Relationships among the rise time, outburst length, decline time, quiescent interval, maximum V magnitude, and physical-system parameters such as orbital period and masses of the component stars were investigated. The results confirm some, but not all, of the correlations previously found for the best-studied system SS Cyg and other, less consistent, surveys. The autors use the long- and short-outburst separation characteristic of the SU UMa class to identify several prime suspects for this group.

Harmonious Coexistence of Hispine Beetles on Heliconia In Experimental and Natural Communities

Hispine beetles that live as adults in the rolled leaves of Heliconia plants are prime suspects for interference competition among species, based upon theory developed by vertebrate ecologists. These beetles are tropical, long—lived, and very closely related, eat the same food, and use the same habitat. However, hispines do not conform to this theory: 1) Rolled—leaf hispines are not aggressive intra— or interspecifically, and are not displaced or intimidated by encounters between individuals. 2) Adults are not segregated by species into different leaf subsets of host populations. Species mingle together in patterns that do not suggest interspecific competition. 3) Number of species does not affect interspecific association. 4) Pairwise correlations indicate that only one beetle (Cephaloleia) of the 13 species studied is even weakly segregated from others. It prefers leaves on younger plants than those preferred by other species, and its segregation is a result of subtle habitat differences rather than competition. 5) Interspecific segregation among hispanies does not increase with density in leaves. 6) No higher order interactions were detected in species associations. 7) Experiments showed that habitat heterogeneity does not measurably influence interspecific association in hispine communities as delimited by a single host species. Experimental communities in nature were constructed with minimal habitat heterogeneity, and no mor segregation or aggregation between hispine species occurred in experimental than in natural communities. Additional observations suggest that levels of food and habitat are commonly not limiting to hispine populations, which suffer heavy parasitism and predation. I infer that community structure of hispines on Heliconia is affected greatly by natural enemines. Heliconia is not chemically noxious to hispines, and experiments show that hispines grow at maximum rates on the relatively low nitrogen content of Heliconia. Theories of community structure based upon interspecific competition, and those based upon allelochemical protection of host plants against adapted insects, are not suitable for hispine communities on Heliconia. My conclusions largely agree with those of Hairston et al. 1960. Additional work with parasitism, predation and other factors that may affect hispine populations, such as the weather, migration, and spacing of host plants, is necessary to establish key and regulatory factors for these tropical insects.

A cohort study of mortality and cancer incidence in ethylene oxide production workers.

Ethylene oxide, important as an intermediate product in the chemical industry and for sterilising hospital equipment, is mutagenic in several organisms; carcinogenicity has been suspected although this had not been supported by clinical data. Ethylene oxide has been produced by a Swedish company since the beginning of the 1940s. This paper describes a cohort study of the mortality and the cancer incidence among full-time exposed workers in ethylene oxide production, a group of maintenance workers with intermittent exposure and a group of unexposed controls. Investigation of the production processes in the building at different times has shown that workers were exposed to ethylene dichloride, ethylene chlorohydrin, ethylene, and small amounts of bis-(2-chloroethyl) ether as well as to ethylene oxide and traces of other chemicals. The full-time exposed cohort shows a considerable excess mortality deriving mainly from increased mortality from tumours and also from diseases of the circulatory system. The cancer incidence study, including living persons with malignancies, showed a significant excess in the full-time cohort. Of the 16 patients with tumours in the two more exposed cohorts there were three cases of leukaemia, six of tumours in the alimentary tract and four of urogenital malignancy. The excess mortality and cancer incidence cannot be attributed to any particular chemical in the production process, but ethylene oxide and ethylene dichloride are the prime suspects.

Viruses and cancer of the lower genital tract

The importance of viruses as oncogenic agents in animals is well established. Recent work suggests that viruses may also be etiologically related to some human cancers. Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) and the genital wart virus are prime suspects in carcinomas involving the female lower genital tract. In particular, a close association has been found between HSV-2 infection and cervical neoplasia in cytohistopathologic and seroepidemiologic studies. Preliminary results of prospective studies show further that women with genital herpetic infection are at increased risk of developing cervical neoplasia. Additional studies are also in progress on animal models, including subhuman primates, and efforts continue in the attempt to confirm the presence of viral genetic material or its expression in human cervical cancer cells. The possibility that human wart viruses have an oncogenic potential is suggested by clinicopathologic and electron microscopic observations. Further research is needed to ascertain the precise role of viruses in genital cancer.

Central Airway Obstruction

Seven patients had central airway obstruction of varied causes. The diagnosis was established early in some, but in others, because of either atypical clinical or physiological features or the lack of suspicion, the diagnosis was delayed. These cases emphasize that central airway obstruction may simulate asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and is not a rare clinical problem. Prime suspects are patients with dyspnea and wheezing without a well-defined cause.