Early transoesophageal echocardiography in cryptogenic and lacunar stroke and transient ischaemic attack

OBJECTIVE: To determine, prospectively, the effect of clinical factors on the duration of frank haematuria and the incidence of clot retention after transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Seventy-nine men who underwent TURP in a 3-month period were entered into this study, during which the time to cessation of bleeding and the occurrence of clot retention(s) were recorded over a 4-week period. The effect of other clinical factors (histology, weight of tissue resected. operative duration, grade of surgeon and resection rate) was also assessed. RESULTS: Gross haematuria ceased in 47%, 73%, 96%, and 97% of patients at the end of the first, second, third and fourth weeks, respectively. The duration of postoperative bleeding was significantly associated with the weight of tissue resected and the operation time (P<0.001 and <0.05, respectively). Furthermore, five patients were re-admitted with clot retention, but there was no significant correlation between the occurrence of this morbidity and any of the other indices. CONCLUSION: Postoperative bleeding usually stops within 3 weeks of TURP. This period, which is about half the time hitherto assumed, is directly related to the size of the gland resected and the duration of the procedure. However, the occurrence of clot retention is not significantly associated with the duration of haematuria or any of the other clinical factors evaluated. Thus, a high fluid intake is mandatory for 3 weeks after TURP, but men who continue to bleed should be advised to continue with a high-fluid regimen until their urine is clear.     

Human apolipoproteins A-I and A-II in cell cholesterol efflux: studies with transgenic mice

The first step in reverse cholesterol transport is the movement of cholesterol out of cells onto lipoprotein acceptors in the interstitial fluid. The contribution of specific lipoprotein components to this process remains to be established. In this study, the role of human apolipoproteins (apo) A-I and A-II in the efflux of cellular cholesterol was investigated in transgenic mouse models in which the expression of murine apoA-I was abolished due to gene targeting (A-IKO). Serum from A-IKO mice and from mice expressing human apoA-I and/or human apoA-II was incubated with [3H]cholesterol-labeled Fu5AH rat hepatoma cells for 4 hours at 37 degrees C. The cholesterol efflux to the serum of A-IKO mice was markedly lower than that to the serum of mice transgenic for human apoA-I (5.0 +/- 1.5% versus 25.0 +/- 4.0%). Expression of human apoA-II alone did not modify the cholesterol efflux capacity of A-IKO mouse serum. Cholesterol efflux to serum of mice expressing human apoA-II together with human apoA-I was significantly lower than that to human apoA-I mouse serum (20.0 +/- 2.3% versus 25.0 +/- 4.0%). Regression analysis of cholesterol efflux versus the lipid/apolipoprotein concentrations of mouse serum suggested that 3 independent factors contribute to determine the cholesterol efflux potential of serum: the apolipoprotein composition of HDL, the serum concentration of HDL phospholipids, and the presence of a small fraction of particles containing apoA-I.     

Local Effects Induced by Longitudinal Forces in Composite Girders

Local effects on the shear connection of composite girders induced by longitudinal actions such as the anchorages of prestressing cables, concrete shrinkage, or a uniform thermal action on the slab are analyzed. Closed-form solutions are obtained by using the simple model of a composite beam with a linearly elastic shear connection. Successively, by considering the limit scheme of an infinitely long beam, very simple formulas are derived permitting evaluation of the peak value and extension of the interface shear force distribution induced by the longitudinal actions. Numerical applications are carried out to show the effectiveness of the proposed formulas for a wide range of the shear connection stiffness and for longitudinal forces applied both along the beam axis and at the beam end.     

Cytotoxic activity and mechanism of action of 5-Aza-2'-deoxycytidine in human CML cells

We investigated the cytotoxic activity and some aspects of the mode of action of 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (Aza-dC) in 21 primary cultures of leukemic cells freshly obtained from patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in blast crisis. The cytotoxic potency of Aza-dC was comparable or even greater than that of 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine (Ara-C) in most cases, suggesting that this drug has potential in the therapy of blast crisis of CML. Drug incorporation into DNA was evaluated by exposing leukemic cells simultaneously to 3H-Aza-dC at the concentration of 0.1 micrograms/ml and 14C-thymidine (TdR) used as internal standard. Incorporation of Aza-dC into DNA was detectable in all cases. In 17 samples we evaluated the DNA integrity of leukemic cells exposed to Aza-dC using alkaline elution techniques. The drug caused a detectable amount of DNA alkali labile sites (ALS). DNA-ALS increased in cells exposed to Aza-dC concentrations from 0.1 to 1 microgram/ml but did not further increase at 10 micrograms/ml. A plateau in the levels of DNA-ALS was also seen in human K562 cells exposed to increasing concentrations of Aza-dC from 5 to 10 micrograms/ml, whereas in these cells Aza-dC incorporation into DNA increased with increasing Aza-dC concentrations. Therefore, DNA-ALS caused by Aza-dC are not simply the result of the chemical decomposition of azacytosine molecules incorporated into DNA, but are presumably the result of a saturable DNA repair mechanism (e.g., glycosylases) leading to formation of the apyrimidinic sites.     

Electrohydrodynamic forming of porous ceramic capsules from a preceramic polymer

Porous polymeric near-spherical capsules, ~ 3.6 mm in diameter, were prepared using an electrodydrodynamic process. These capsules were pyrolysed to porous ceramics, ~ 3 mm in diameter. The ceramic capsules had interconnected pores of ~ 1.3 μm in size, and large cells with a mean size of 28 μm. The larger pores resemble the cells in a typical ceramic foam and were evenly distributed throughout the structure. A large proportion of the ceramic capsules contained 65–70% porosity, and their compressive strength was 0.2–0.4 MPa.     

Feasibility of a long-term low-sodium diet in mild hypertension

The present study set out to assess the feasibility of long-term moderate dietary sodium restriction in patients with mild hypertension in general practice. After screening and a run-in phase of 6-8 weeks, a total of 77 previously undiagnosed mildly hypertensive patients were identified. Half of them were randomized to receive a few simple dietary instructions from their general practitioners in order to reduce salt usage; the others were randomized to receive no advice. The patients were followed up for 12 months with quarterly visits. A total of 56 patients (72.7%) completed the study, 26 on a low-sodium diet (LD) and 30 on their usual diet (UD). At each visit in the diet phase, patients provided 24h urine, which was analysed for volume and sodium concentration in order to assess their sodium intake. Blood pressure, heart the rate and body weight were recorded. The mean urinary sodium excretion for all diet phase visits overlapped in the two groups (177.0 +/- 32.9 vs. 169.3 +/- 49.4 mEq/24h respectively in the LD and UD groups). Nevertheless the mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures for all diet phase visits were significantly lower in the LD than in UD group (144.2 +/- 11.1/91.6 +/- 6.4 and 148.0 +/- 13.7/95.6 +/- 4.7 mmHg respectively, P less than 0.01). Our data suggest that it is not feasible at present to reduce sodium intake in mild hypertensives with simple and inexpensive dietary instructions, the only ones suitable for widespread application in general practice.     

Representation of serial order in pigeons (Columba livia).

In Experiment 1, 2 groups of pigeons were trained to respond to either a 4-item (A→B→C→D) or 5-item (A→B→C→D→E) list. After learning their respective list, half of the subjects were trained on a positive pair with reinforcement provided when pairs were responded to in the order true to that of the original sequence (4-item: B→C; 5-item: B→D). The remaining subjects were trained on a negative pair with reinforcement provided for responding to the pairs in the order opposite to that learned in the original sequence (4-item: C→B; 5-item: D→B). Subjects in the positive pair condition learned their respective pair faster than did subjects in the negative pair condition. In Experiment 2, after reaching criterion on a 4-item list, subjects received 16 BC probe trials spread across 4 sessions of training. Subjects performed significantly above chance on the probe trials. The performance of our subjects in Experiments 1 and 2 demonstrates that, similar to monkeys, pigeons form a representation of the lists that they learn. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)