Fever: effect of drug-induced antipyresis on survival

To determine whether the prevention of fever affects the survival of an animal infected with pathogenic bacteria, lizards (Dipsosaurus dorsalis) were infected with live Aeromonas hydrophila and received varying doses of sodium salicylate, an antipyretic drug. Twelve lizards received identical injections of bacteria along with a nontoxic dose of sodium salicylate; five animals increased their mean body temperature at least 0.6 degrees C and survived the week, whereas seven did not develop a fever and died within 3 days. These data indicate that in these lizards the prevention of fever by use of an antipyretic drug such as sodium salicylate increases the mortality rate from bacterial infection.     

Effect of cyproterone acetate on the testis and epididymis of the lizard, Psammophilus dorsalis (gray)

The effect of cytproterone acetate (CPA) on the testis and epididymis of the lizard, Psammophilus dorsalis has been studied. Treatment with CPA affects spermatogensis and steroid metabolism in the testis. It also causes regression of the epididymis and a decrease in steroidogenic enzyme activity.     

Fever in the returned traveler

The most important cause of fever in the returned traveler is malaria. All febrile patients in which malaria is epidemiologically possible require urgent evaluation for P. falciparum malaria, which can be rapidly fatal in the nonimmune patient. Early diagnosis and therapy can prevent severe morbidity and mortality. Other less common causes of undifferentiated fever include acute schistosomiasis, the enteric fevers, rickettsial diseases, leptospirosis, and dengue fever. Early empiric therapy for suspected leptospirosis and the rickettsial infections is encouraged to decrease morbidity and mortality. About a quarter of febrile patients do not have an etiologic agent determined for their illness but recover without sequelae. Patients with fever and hemorrhagic manifestations within 3 weeks of their return need to be isolated for the remote possibility of a highly transmissible agent. Although the febrile traveler is always a challenge, the real world differential diagnosis is limited and a systematic approach via the history, physical examination, and selected laboratory tests is usually sufficient to confirm the diagnosis or eliminate potentially serious infections.     

Intercellular bridges in lizard oogenesis

1. The effects of the dopamine-beta-hydroxylase inhibitors bupicamide, fusaric acid, FLA-63 and U-14,624 on blood pressure and heart rate of spontaneously hypertensive rats were examined. 2. Bupicamide and fusaric acid caused marked tachycardia whereas FLA-63 and U-14,624 caused modest bradycardia; all drugs decreased blood pressure. 3. In normotensive rats, fusaric acid caused the same degree of tachycardia as in spontaneously hypertensive rats, but blood pressure was only slightly reduced. 4. Tachycardia after fusaric acid was not due to increased sympathetic activity or decreased parasympathetic activity but required intact catecholamine stores. 5. It is concluded that fusaric acid causes tachycardia by releasing catecholamines indirectly and that a metabolite of fusaric acid is also involved.     

Rainfall, activity and social behaviour in the lizard, Anolis aeneus

The effects of drought periods on the behaviour of a tropical lizard (Anolis aeneus) were measured. The number of lizards active at study sites and display frequencies varied inversely with days since rainfall. Animals that were artificially watered during a drought drank and showed an immediate recovery to prior, non-drought display levels. Rainfall records indicate that drought periods of the duration studied here are frequent in the natural habitat.     

Sac-like pouches in Blastocystis from the house lizard Cosymbotus platyurus

We report a 65-year-old male with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) who developed bilateral vocal cord abductor paralysis (VCAP). The patient was admitted to our hospital because of impaired gait. He was well until two years earlier, when he began to walk unsteadily. During the next two years, dysarthria and dysphagia developed and his gait worsened gradually. On admission, neurological examination showed impaired vertical and incomplete lateral gaze. His speech was slow and monotonous. Contractures were found in the neck muscles and elbows. The deep tendon reflexes were increased in the upper and decreased in the lower extremities. Babinski sign was negative. Snout and forced grasping reflexes were elicited. He showed marked bradykinesia. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a midbrain tectum atrophy. Single photon emission tomography showed severe hypoper-fusion in the frontal cortex. No improvement was provided by the administration of levodopa-carbidopa, bromocriptine, droxydopa and amitriptyline. One month after admission, inspiratory stridor developed at night. The laryngofiberscopic examination demonstrated VCAP. An emergency tracheostomy relieved his respiratory distress. Although VCAP rarely occurs in neurodegenerative disorders other than multiple system atrophy, attention to VCAP should be required in PSP patients.     

Ascending projections from the optic tectum in the lizard Podarcis hispanica

The ascending projections of the optic tectum, including their cells of origin, have been studied in the lizard Podarcis hispanica by means of a two-step experimental procedure. First, tracers were injected in the tectum to study the anterograde labeling in the forebrain. Second, the cells of origin of these projections have been identified by analyzing the retrograde labeling after tracer injections in the thalamus, hypothalamus, and pretectum. Three main tectal ascending pathways have been described: the dorsal tecto-thalamic tract (dtt), the medial tecto-thalamic tract (mtt), and the ventral tecto-thalamic tract (vtt). The dtt originates in radial cells of layers 5 and 7 and bipolar cells of layers 8 and 10 that project to the lateral neuropile of the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (GLD), to the intergeniculate leaflet (IGL), and to the ventral lateral geniculate nucleus (GLV). The mtt arises from radial neurons of layers 3 and 5 and bilaterally reaches the putative reticular thalamus and its boundary with the hypothalamus, the rostral IGL, and the area triangularis (AT). The vtt is composed of fibers from ganglion and multipolar cells of the layer 7 that project bilaterally to the nucleus of the vtt, the ventrolateral thalamic nucleus, the medial posterior thalamic nucleus (MP), the nucleus rotundus (Rot), the IGL, and the cell plate of the GLD. Therefore, the GLD receives not only direct retinal afferents but also two different tectal inputs, thus constituting a convergence point in the two visual pathways to the telencephalon. Moreover, different tectal cells specifically project to the ventrolateral thalamus and to pretectal nuclei. These results are discussed from comparative and functional viewpoints.     

Intrapulmonary receptors in the Tegu lizard: II. Functional characteristics and localization;

Intrapulmonary receptors identified in the Tegu lizard by single-unit vagal recording (Fedde et al., 1977) were subjected to a number of stimuli and localized within the lung. Some carbon dioxide receptors could follow periodic changes in intrapulmonary CO2 concentrations as rapidly as 1.3 Hz; No oxygen sensitivity was observed with this receptor type, and halothane markedly depressed the discharge frequency. In response to intravenously injected acetazolamide they increased their discharge frequency and became almost totally insensitive to CO2, suggesting molecular per se is not the direct controller of receptor discharge; These receptors show many of the functional characteristics described for those in the avian lung. Afferent activity from both CO2 and mechanoreceptors could be elicited by electrically stimulating the lung surface. The CO2 receptors appeared to be organized in a receptive field covering more than 1 cm2 of lung surface, multiple receptors being innervated by a single afferent fiber. Activity in afferent fibers from mechanoreceptors could be evoked from only one distinct spot on the lung surface. Conduction velocities of afferent fibers from CO2 receptors ranged from 1 to 3 m-sec-1; from mechanoreceptors, from 1.9 to 5.2 m-sec-1.     

Anatomy and ultrastructure of the excretory system of the lizard, Sceloporus cyanogenys

The anatomy and ultrastructure of the lizard kidney (Sceloporus cyanogenys) have been studied by light and electron microscopy. The number of glomeruli was counted in serial sections and estimated to be 2,000 (in the two kidneys). Beginning with the glomerulus and Bowman's capsule the nephron segments are sequentially: (a) proximal tubule; (b) intermediate ciliated segment consisting of a proximal and distal part; (c) distal tubule, which can be divided into two segments, followed by (d) connecting tubule and (e) initial collecting duct. The initial collecting ducts from several nephrons open into the collecting duct. Tubular epithelium in this lizard has similarities to that of other reptiles. The lateral borders do not overlap like in mammals, but interdigitate by fingerlike projections. The length of the nephron segments was measured in disected tubules and the diameter was measured on light and electron micrographs. From these measurements estimates of inner tubular surface area were made. Together with data from physiological studies (Stolte et al., '76; Schmidt-Nielsen, '76) the estimated surface area was used to calculate transport rates per unit area across the epithelium. Comparisons of structure and transport rates per unit area across the epithelium. Comparisons of structure and transport rates were made between S. cyanogenys and other reptiles and mammals.     

Fever and neutropenia in children with malignant disease

Treatment of episodes of fever and neutropenia in pediatric hematology-oncology patients includes hospitalization and administration of intravenous antibiotics until the patient is afebrile and no longer neutropenic. The present analysis characterizes retrospectively febrile episodes in neutropenic pediatric hematology-oncology patients with regard to frequency of documented infections, organisms associated with these infections, efficacy of a standardized antibiotic regimen, and safety of early antibiotic discontinuation under defined conditions. A total of 149 pediatric febrile neutropenic episodes were identified during a 4-year period between 1990 and 1994. These occurred in 47 male and 19 female patients, of a mean age of 7.6 years (range 0.5-15). The most frequent diagnoses were leukemia (41% of patients), lymphoma (21%), rhabdomyosarcoma (7%), soft tissue sarcoma (5%), Ewing's sarcoma (5%), and osteosarcoma (4%). Infection was certain in 36% of febrile episodes, probable in 14%, and not determined in 50%. Patients with severe neutropenia (absolute neutrophil count < 100) had a slightly, although not significantly higher incidence of documented and probable infection (57%). Patients with solid tumor had documented infection in 40% of their febrile episodes, and the detection rate in the children with leukemia was 31% (P < .20) Blood cultures were positive in 21 (14%) of 149 episodes. Staphylococci (both coagulase-negative and coagulase-positive strains) and Pseudomonas were the organisms most frequently isolated (six episodes each). Mouth and throat (11), lungs (10), and skin (10) were the next most frequent sites of localized infection. Initial treatment consisted of piperacillin and amikacin or of vancomycin and amikacin when the source of fever was thought to be an infected central line catheter, with addition of amphotericin B by the seventh day of treatment when fever with neutropenia persisted or upon clinical suspicion of underlying fungal infection. There was a single fatality, of a patient with Burkitt's lymphoma. Antibiotics were discontinued when initial blood cultures had no growth after at least 48 hours and no source of infection was found, the blood count was improving, and if the patient became afebrile and clinically well. No patient needed readmission during the fortnight that followed discontinuation of antimicrobial therapy. Patients with negative blood cultures under defined conditions, as described above, could safely be discharged early, thus shortening the duration of intravenous antibiotic therapy and hospital stay.     

中国期刊全文数据库中果蔬重要害虫桔小实蝇文献计量分析

以计量学为基础,以CNKI全文数据库为依据,对我国1980～2010年发表的关于果蔬重要害虫桔小实蝇的相关学术论文进行了统计和分析,包括研究文献的数量、年份分布、文献作者、载文期刊的分布、主要产出单位及区域等,从文献研究角度分析了桔小实绳的研究现状和发展趋势,以期为相关研究提供理论依据.     

Structural and functional modifications of the nucleolus during previtellogenic oocyte growth in the lizard Podarcis sicula

African-American women have the highest AIDS rate of any racial/ethnic group of women in both Los Angeles County (LAC), California and in the United States. Limited population-based epidemiologic studies of African-American women with HIV and AIDS describe this group and examine the factors associated with the excessive rates. Interview data collected from 1990 to 1997 on a population-based sample of AIDS cases and a group of HIV-infected women in LAC were analyzed to highlight the sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics of African-American women. This group of African-American women with HIV or AIDS in LAC were unemployed (88%), single mothers (64%), living on public assistance (86%) with annual household incomes <$10,000 U.S. (76%). A history of crack use predominated (50%). Compared with women of other races with HIV and AIDS, African-American women reported more sexual partners; reported more infections with sexually transmitted diseases; sought treatment for their HIV infection later; were more likely to trade sex; and were almost five times more likely to have ever used crack cocaine. HIV prevention for African-American women in LAC should focus on improving self-esteem and negotiation skills within the context of the crack cocaine culture and the disadvantaged social and economic situation described.