St John''s Wort (Hypericum perforatum)--a herbal antidepressant

We were interested in the contribution of the cardiac neural crest to the complete anterior and posterior nerve plexus of the chick heart. This includes the pathways by which these cardiac neural crest-derived neuronal precursors enter the heart. As lineage techniques we used the traditional quail-chick chimera in combination with the newly introduced technique of retroviral reporter gene transfer to premigratory cardiac neural crest cells. Retrovirally infected embryos (n=23) and quail-chick chimeras (n=19) between stages HH27 and 40, were immunohistochemically evaluated, using the lineage markers LacZ (retroviral reporter) and QCPN (anti-quail nuclear marker), respectively and the neuronal differentiation markers HNK-1, RMO-270 and DO-170. Between stages HH27 and 33, quail-derived and LacZ positive cells were situated around the arterial cardiac vagal branches at the arterial pole, and vagal branches along the anterior cardinal veins and the sinal vagal branch at the venous pole. From stage HH35 onward, QCPN/LacZ-positive cardiac ganglia were observed throughout the anterior and posterior plexus and were mainly concentrated in the subepicardium near the distal ends of the arterial cardiac vagal branches and the sinal cardiac vagal branch respectively. From stage HH36 both the anterior and posterior plexus contained a population of large cardiac ganglion cells and a population of smaller cells along nerve branches as well as in the cardiac ganglia, which means that differentiation starts in both plexus at the same time. Furthermore only nerve fiber connections between the anterior and posterior plexus were observed. These results show that the cardiac neural crest contributes to the cardiac ganglion cells from both the entire anterior and posterior plexus. Furthermore these results suggest that these precursor cells enter the arterial pole via the arterial cardiac vagal branches and the venous pole via the sinal cardiac vagal branch without intermixing. Finally we show that in addition to the cardiac ganglia, the cardiac neural crest contributes to small myocardial glia or undifferentiated cells along nerve fibers, and some myocardial nerve fibers as well as nerve tissue in the adventitia of the large veins at the venous pole and in the adventitia of the coronary arteries.     

"CADASIL"--a newly discovered hereditary cerebrovascular disease]

CADASIL (Cerebral Autosomal Dominant Arteriopathy with Subcortical Infarcts and Leucoencephalopathy) is a newly discovered inherited cerebrovascular disease characterized clinically by recurrent stroke-like incidents, dementia and often pseudobulbar palsy. Neuroimaging reveals intensive subcortical changes and pathologically one finds apparently systemic changes concerning the vessels such as thickening of the vessel wall, loss of smooth muscle cells and patches of granular material of unknown origin. The disease is not associated with atherosclerosis and vascular risk factors are missing or few. The CADASIL-locus maps to chromosome 19, but the gene has not yet been identified. Treatment and pathogenesis are unknown. In a Danish stroke population (The Copenhagen Stroke Study) no CADASIL-suspected cases were found among patients < or = 55 years, indicating a rare disease as far as Denmark is concerned.     

Glucagon-like peptide-1--a new hormone and a new drug

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1 is an insulinotropic hormone, which is secreted from endocrine cells of the intestinal mucosa in relation to meal ingestion. It plays an important role as an incretin hormone; thus, mice with a null-muation in the gene encoding the GLP-1 receptor are glucose intolerant. In addition, GLP-1 inhibits gastrointestinal secretion and motility and is thought to act as one of the hormones of the "ileal brake". The insulinotropic effect of GLP-1 is preserved in patients with non insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and, because GLP-1 also inhibits glucagon secretion, it effectively lowers blood glucose in such, and given as an intravenous infusion it may completely normalise blood glucose. Furthermore, because its actions on insulin and glucagon secretion are dependent on the blood glucose levels it will not cause hypoglycemia. Efforts are therefore currently being made to employ GLP-1 or analogues thereof in clinical diabetes treatment, not least because recent investigations have shown that GLP-1, perhaps due to its gastrointestinal actions, is capable of reducing food intake in humans.     

Development of early-summer meningoencephalitis (FSME) in the Thurgau region 1990-1995--a new endemic area?

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a viral infection transmitted by bites of infected ticks. The clinical course is mostly mild, but death occurs in 1-2% of TBE infections and nearly half of patients with meningitis/meningoencephalitis show residual disease, above all chronic headache. TBE-infected ticks occur only in endemic areas. A knowledge of the endemic areas is very important for immunoprophylaxis of TBE. In recent years between 26 and 97 cases of TBE have occurred in Switzerland. The largest endemic areas are in Canton Schaffhausen, the northern part of Canton Zurich and the north-west of Canton Thurgau. Another endemic area is known in the region of Thun in Canton Berne. Another possible endemic area is known in the Zurich Oberland around Elgg, only 7 km from Aadorf in Thurgau. Up to now, Diessenhofen in the north-west of Thurgau was the only known possible endemic area. In 1994 and 1995 we observed an accumulation of TBE infections in western Thurgau. The question was whether there are other endemic areas in Thurgau. In this retrospective analysis we studied the TBE cases in Thurgau between 1990 and 1995 with data derived from the cantonal health authorities reports. Clinical data were taken from case histories of the two cantonal hospitals in Frauenfeld and Münsterlingen, completed by data from family doctors and patients. Between 1990 and 1995 30 TBE infections (1990; 1, 1991: 4, 1992: 3, 1993: 1, 1994: 4 certain, 3 uncertain, 1995: 14) were observed. TBE infections appeared between May and October (maximum in May). 14 patients remembered a bite by a tick several weeks before onset of the illness. 7 bites occurred in the area of Frauenfeld/Aadorf. Only one bite occurred in Diessenhofen. 2 patients were infected in well-known endemic areas in Canton Zurich, a vicinal region in the west of Thurgau. In 1995 the incidence of TBE in Thurgau was 5.4/100000 population. In 9 of the 14 patients recalling a bite by a tick (64.4%), the bites occurred near their domicile. No bite was seen east of a line between Steckborn and Weinfelden. The incidence of TBE in Thurgau in 1995 was clearly higher than the average in Switzerland in recent years (0.46/100000), and higher than in the well-known endemic areas in the vicinity (Schaffhausen 3.95, Zurich 1.31). Based on our data, the region Frauenfeld/Aadorf must be declared a new endemic area for TBE. Probably the well-known endemic area in the Zurich Oberland in the vicinity of Elgg has spread eastward. Persons who are often in the forests of this region should be advised to be vaccinated.     

"Community health care: serving Colorado's uninsured"--a health policy legislative proposal

The article presents a hypothetical legislative proposal titled "Community Health Care: Serving the Uninsured." Briefly stated, the purpose of this legislation is to encourage public and private initiatives to provide health care for the uninsured, the indigent, and the underinsured citizens of Colorado. Lessons learned from this project can facilitate APNs' understanding of the issues surrounding the development of health policy.     

浅谈加强过程质量控制增加结构抗震能力

论述加强几个施工方面的质量控制 ,增加结构抗震能力     

Direct effects of Chinese herbal medicine "hochuekkito" on sperm movement

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Chinese herbal medicine, "Hochuekkito" is widely used for male infertility in Japan. There have been many reports concerning its clinical usefulness but very few reports of in vitro experiments studying the mechanism of its effects. In addition to stimulating germ cells, we analyzed its direct effects on sperm using computer assisted semen analyzer (CASA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Motile sperm were prepared using swim up technique from semen collected from ten healthy volunteers. Sperm movements (motility, velocity, linearity) were analyzed by CASA after adding either serum containing anti-sperm antibody (ASA) or normal serum with or without Hochuekkito. RESULTS: Two hours after adding serum with ASA, the decrease of sperm motility was significantly reduced from 25.1% (92.8%-->67.7%) to 12.5% (92.9%-->80.6%) by adding Hochuekkito. No significant difference in velocity and linearity was observed between two groups. By adding normal serum, any of three parameters differed significantly with or without Hochuekkito. CONCLUSION: Protective effects of Hochuekkito on sperm was suggested. Although normal sperm with ASA was used in this report, since the sperm of infertile patients are said to be more fragile, this results imply that direct protective effect is one of the mechanism of Hochuekkito for male infertility.     

Hysterectomy trends in Finland in 1987-1995--a register based analysis

BACKGROUND: The study objective was to identify trends in the use of hysterectomy by nationwide register based analysis in Finland. METHODS: All women (n=89,069) undergoing hysterectomy in 1987-1995 according to the Finnish Hospital Discharge Register were the numerator. The annual denominator data were obtained from the population database of Statistics Finland. RESULTS: From 1987 to 1992 the hysterectomy rate increased by 22%, from 340 to 414 per 100,000 females, almost half of this being attributable to the changing age structure. From 1993 on, ambiguity in coding laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomies prohibited detailed analyses. However, the overall trend continued at least among women 50 years and over until 1995. The age-adjusted 12% increase from 1987 to 1992 coincided with a rapid increase in operation rates in postmenopausal groups (60% or more among women aged 55 59 and 70-79 years). Among women aged 55-64 years, operations for fibroids and uterine bleeding more than doubled, suggesting an influence of increased use of estrogen replacement therapy. Among all women, operations due to bleeding disorders and genital prolapse showed the largest increase (41% and 42% respectively). Bilateral oophorectomy became more common in all age groups over 46 years. CONCLUSIONS: There was a modest increase in the overall hysterectomy rate. However, the operation became far more common in postmenopausal women, possibly due to the growing use of estrogen replacement therapy. Register data can be used for describing changes in clinical practice, but other methods are needed to confirm the causal relationships underlying the changes.     

影响混凝土抗渗性的主要因素及其对策

混凝土的密实度是影响混凝土抗渗性的重要因素,降低用水量和水灰比,严格按工艺操作规程施工有利于提高混凝土的密实度,从而提高混凝土的抗渗性。     

Physiological effects of "hypnotic suggestions': A critical review of recent research (1960-64).

Recent studies are reviewed which were concerned with the effectiveness of suggestions given under "hypnosis" and "waking" experimental treatments in alleviating allergies, ichthyosis, myopia, and other conditions and in eliciting deafness, blindness, hallucinations, analgesia, cardiac acceleration and deceleration, emotional responses, urine secretion to sham water ingestion, narcotic-like drug effects, and other phenomena. The review indicates that a wide variety of physiological functions can be influenced by suggestions administered under either hypnosis or waking experimental treatments, and direct and indirect suggestions to show the particular physiological manifestations are crucial variables in producing the effects. (3 p. ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The ob gene product (leptin)--a new hormone of adipose tissue

Obesity--an important problem in modern societies--is caused by energy balance dysregulation and produces numerous adverse effects on health. Recently a particular attention has been paid to molecular and physiological mechanisms in the development of obesity and to the signalling role of adipose tissue in energy stores maintenance on the hypothalamic level. Leptin, the obese gene product discovered in 1995, may play a key role in the feedback system between adipose tissue and the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (satiety centre). The level of ob gene expression in adipose tissue and plasma leptin concentrations in humans are highly correlated with BMI. So far no mutations in the ob gene in obese subjects have been reported therefore leptin molecule could be active. Despite markedly increased leptin levels found in obesity its central action decreasing food intake and increasing energy expenditure is hindered. Defective ob protein signalling to the brain may be due to receptor and post-receptor defects. Neuropeptide Y, the hypothalamic neurotransmitter involved in the maintaining of energy homeostasis, is a likely candidate for mediating leptin afferent signals. In adipose tissue, the level of ob mRNA is regulated by insulin and glucocorticoids--hormones responsible for glucose homeostasis as well as for the central regulation of feeding behaviour. Until now the character of interactions between leptin and other hormones that regulate energy balance is not known, neither is the exact nature of leptin hypothalamic receptor defect. Defining of the role of leptin in the regulation of satiety and energy expenditure will undoubtedly contribute to a better understanding of the pathogenesis of obesity and its related metabolic complications and may lead to a new treatment approach to human obesity based on leptin or its analogues. At present research work focuses on leptin receptor studies and on ob gene polymorphism and its expression in feeding disorders including obesity and anorexia nervosa. The ob gene is one of a few genes involved in energy balance, however, very promising one.     

新型复合硅酸盐水泥的研制

利用水泥熟料和两种以上的混合材料掺混，经球容机粉磨，按国标ＧＢ１２９５８－９１规定的试验方法试验．结果表明，所制得的混合料其抗折强度高、早期强度增长快、耐磨性能和抗冻性能好等的新型水硬性胶凝材料．     

"High risk" anterior basal skull fractures. Surgical treatment of 64 consecutive cases

Information on the number and causes of death is one of the basic components of a country's health information system. Data are usually derived from death certificates and health facility discharge summaries. There are usually several causes of error in the routine collection of this information. A criteria audit of death certificates is presented to assess these sources of error in Papua New Guinea. This procedure involved the systematic and critical analysis of hospital mortality as reported in death certificates. The audit is simple, cheap and useful for monitoring the quality of the mortality information which will be used in health planning and management. Quality criteria are defined and the completeness and relevance of the data audited are discussed. Recommendations for the improvement of the health information system are made.     

AILV1 gene from the yeast Arxula adeninivorans LS3--a new selective transformation marker

The ILV1 gene of the yeast Arxula adeninivorans LS3 (AILV1) has been cloned from a genomic library, characterized and used as an auxotrophic selection marker for transformation of plasmids into this yeast. One copy of the gene is present in the Arxula genome, comprising 1653 bp and encoding 550 amino acids of the threonine deaminase. The protein sequence is similar (60.55%) to that of the threonine deaminase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae encoded by the gene ILV1. The protein is enzymatically active during the whole period of cultivation, up to 70 h. Maximal activities, as well as protein concentrations of this enzyme, were achieved after cultivation times of 20-36 h. The AILV1 gene is a suitable auxotrophic selection marker in transformation experiments using an Arxula adeninivorans ilv1 mutant and a plasmid containing this gene, which is fused into the 25S rDNA of Arxula adeninivorans. One to three copies of the linearized plasmid were integrated into the 25S rDNA by homologous recombination. Transformants resulting from complementation of the ilv1 mutation can be easily and reproducibly selected and in addition are mitotically stable. Therefore, the described system is preferred to the conventional selection for hygromycin B resistance.