Hospital practices influence the pattern of infective endocarditis

OBJECTIVE: To identify factors contributing to infective endocarditis at a major teaching hospital. METHODS: Retrospective review of clinical records of patients diagnosed with endocarditis by standard case definitions with respect to causative organisms, clinical features and outcome. RESULTS: One hundred and ninety-three episodes of endocarditis seen between 1979 and 1992 at Westmead Hospital, Sydney, were reviewed. In the 174 cases where the causative organism was isolated, 75 (43%) were Staphylococcus aureus and 50 (29%) were viridans streptococci. Nosocomial acquisition and/or inter-hospital transfer accounted for 83 episodes; 48 (58%) S. aureus (P < 0.001) and nine (11%) viridans streptococci (P < 0.001). In cases from the local community, viridans streptococci were more common than S. aureus (37% versus 25%); these included 18 episodes (14 S. aureus) in intravenous drug users. CONCLUSION: We conclude that, compared with community-acquired infections, the aetiology of endocarditis in a large teaching hospital is influenced strongly by the prevalence of nosocomial endocarditis and the need for interhospital transfer of complicated cases.     

Immunocytochemical localization of vasoactive intestinal peptide and neuropeptide Y in the bovine ovary

The distribution of the neuropeptides vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and neuropeptide Y (NPY) was studied immunocytochemically in bovine ovaries from 3 mo of gestation up to and including puberty, and from adult cows at three stages of the estrous cycle. The appearance of VIP and NPY immunoreactivity of 4.5-6 mo of gestation coincided with the onset of follicular development. In contrast to NPY, VIP was first found in the cortex. Both VIP and NPY immunoreactivity increased with age. From 9 mo of gestation onwards, VIP and NPY were found around blood vessels and non-vascular smooth muscle cells, in the stroma near preantral follicles, and in the theca externa of antral follicles. In addition, VIP-positive cells were observed exclusively in the granulosa layer of the preovulatory follicle at the time of the LH surge. The distribution of VIP- and NPY-immunoreactive fibers in the ovary may point to an effect of these neuropeptides on various physiological processes, including follicle development and ovarian blood flow. In addition, the presence of VIP-positive cells in the granulosa layer of the preovulatory follicle is indicative of a role for VIP in ovulation.     

Acidic peptide-mediated expression of the antimicrobial peptide buforin II as tandem repeats in Escherichia coli

OBJECTIVES: To identify the causes of and discuss nursing management of those complications that are unique to the brain tumor patient population. DATA SOURCES: Published articles and books related to neurological and nonneurological complications in the neuro-oncology patient. CONCLUSIONS: Seizures, cerebral edema, thromboembolism, and endocrine dysfunction are several complications experienced by the neuro-oncology patient. These complications can be caused by the tumor or treatment of this disease. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Care of the neuro-oncology patient is complex. Knowledge of the potential complications that patients may experience and how to manage these problems serves to enhance their quality of life.     

Peptide agonist of the thrombopoietin receptor as potent as the natural cytokine

Two families of small peptides that bind to the human thrombopoietin receptor and compete with the binding of the natural ligand thrombopoietin (TPO) were identified from recombinant peptide libraries. The sequences of these peptides were not found in the primary sequence of TPO. Screening libraries of variants of one of these families under affinity-selective conditions yielded a 14-amino acid peptide (Ile-Glu-Gly-Pro-Thr-Leu-Arg-Gln-Trp-Leu-Ala-Ala-Arg-Ala) with high affinity (dissociation constant approximately 2 nanomolar) that stimulates the proliferation of a TPO-responsive Ba/F3 cell line with a median effective concentration (EC50) of 400 nanomolar. Dimerization of this peptide by a carboxyl-terminal linkage to a lysine branch produced a compound with an EC50 of 100 picomolar, which was equipotent to the 332-amino acid natural cytokine in cell-based assays. The peptide dimer also stimulated the in vitro proliferation and maturation of megakaryocytes from human bone marrow cells and promoted an increase in platelet count when administered to normal mice.     

NCAM140 interacts with the focal adhesion kinase p125(fak) and the SRC-related tyrosine kinase p59(fyn)

Axonal growth cones respond to adhesion molecules and extracellular matrix components by rapid morphological changes and growth rate modification. Neurite outgrowth mediated by the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) requires the src family tyrosine kinase p59(fyn) in nerve growth cones, but the molecular basis for this interaction has not been defined. The NCAM140 isoform, which is found in migrating growth cones, selectively co-immunoprecipitated with p59(fyn) from nonionic detergent (Brij 96) extracts of early postnatal mouse cerebellum and transfected rat B35 neuroblastoma and COS-7 cells. p59(fyn) did not associate significantly with the NCAM180 isoform, which is found at sites of stable neural cell contacts, or with the glycophosphatidylinositol-linked NCAM120 isoform. pp60(c-)src, a tyrosine kinase that promotes neurite growth on the neuronal cell adhesion molecule L1, did not interact with any NCAM isoform. Whereas p59(fyn) was constitutively associated with NCAM140, the focal adhesion kinase p125(fak), a nonreceptor tyrosine kinase known to mediate integrin-dependent signaling, became recruited to the NCAM140-p59(fyn) complex when cells were reacted with antibodies against the extracellular region of NCAM. Treatment of cells with a soluble NCAM fusion protein or with NCAM antibodies caused a rapid and transient increase in tyrosine phosphorylation of p125(fak) and p59(fyn). These results suggest that NCAM140 binding interactions at the cell surface induce the assembly of a molecular complex of NCAM140, p125(fak), and p59(fyn) and activate the catalytic function of these tyrosine kinases, initiating a signaling cascade that may modulate growth cone migration.     

Binding of the cocaine analog 2 beta-carbomethoxy-3 beta-(4-[125I]iodophenyl)tropane to serotonin and dopamine transporters: different ionic requirements for substrate and 2 beta-carbomethoxy-3 beta-(4-[125I]iodophenyl)tropane binding

The iodinated cocaine analog 2 beta-carbomethoxy-3 beta-(4- [125I]iodophenyl)tropane (beta-[125I]CIT) binds with high affinity to the platelet plasma membrane serotonin transporter, as previously reported for dopamine transporters from rat brain [Eur. J. Pharmacol. 194:133-134 (1991)]. Unlabeled beta-CIT also inhibits serotonin transport by platelet membrane vesicles. In both rat striatal membranes and platelet plasma membranes, beta-[125I]CIT binding was found to be pH dependent, with a pKa of 6.4-6.9, and did not require the presence of Cl-. Na+ dramatically stimulated beta-[125I]CIT binding to both serotonin and dopamine transporters, although a small fraction of beta-[125I]CIT binding to the serotonin transporter was observed in the absence of Na+. The substrates serotonin and dopamine competed with beta-[125I]CIT for binding to their respective transporters. However, substrate affinity was enhanced by Cl-, whereas beta-[125I]CIT binding affinity was not. [3H]Imipramine binding to the platelet serotonin transporter and [3H]GBR-12935 binding to the dopamine transporter were not inhibited by decreasing the pH from 8 to 6.5. Likewise, the ability of serotonin to compete with [3H]imipramine binding and that of dopamine to inhibit [3H]GBR-12935 binding were equal at pH 6.5 or 8. Thus, beta-[125I]CIT binding to biogenic amine transporters is distinct from serotonin or dopamine binding by virtue of its inhibition by H+ and its insensitivity to Cl-.     

Symptomatic and clinical improvement in morbidly obese patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease following Roux-en-Y gastric bypass

The relationship between a dopamine D2 receptor genetic polymorphism at the Taq1 A locus and the level of D2 receptor binding was investigated in normal, middle aged to elderly subjects with no psychiatric or neurological disorders. D2 receptor binding was measured by autoradiography in the caudate, putamen and nucleus accumbens, using the specific D2 receptor ligand [3H]-raclopride. In a sample of 44 individuals, only one was homozygous for the A1 allele, 25 were homozygous for A2 and 18 were heterozygotes. The presence of one or two A1 alleles was associated with reduced D2 receptor binding in all areas of the striatum, reaching statistical significance in the ventral caudate and putamen (p = 0.01 and p = 0.044, respectively). This reduction was more marked in males than females, particularly in the putamen. A genetic predisposition to lower D2 receptor expression may increase susceptibility to neuroleptic medication or clinical symptoms that are associated with diseases involving dopaminergic pathology.     

HIV risk behaviour and HIV testing of psychiatric patients in Melbourne

OBJECTIVES: Patients with chronic mental illnesses constitute an important risk group for HIV infection overseas. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of risk behaviours associated with HIV transmission and factors associated with HIV testing in psychiatric patients in Melbourne. METHODS: Inpatients and outpatients completed an interviewer-administered questionnaire which covered demographics, psychiatric diagnosis, risk behaviour, and HIV education and testing. RESULTS: Of 145 participants, 60% were male and 55.2% had schizophrenia. Injecting drug use (IDU) was reported by 15.9%, a figure approximately 10 times that found in other population surveys. Most patients reported sex in the last decade and over 20% had multiple sexual partners in the last year. Of males, 12.6% reported sex with another male (9.2% anal sex); 19.0% of females reported sex with a bisexual male. Nearly half of the males reported sex with a prostitute, 2.5 times that in a population sample. Only 15.9% reported ever having someone talk to them specifically about HIV and its transmission, although one-third had been tested for HIV. In multivariate analysis, male-male sex, paying for sex, and IDU were associated with HIV testing, but those whose primary language was not English were less likely to be tested. Those who had received HIV education were more likely to have used a condom last time they had sex (OR 4.52, 95%CI 1.49-14.0). CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence that those with serious mental illness in Victoria have higher rates of participation in risk behaviour for HIV infection than those in the general community. Attention to HIV education and prevention in this group has been inappropriately scant; strategies to encourage safer behaviour are urgently needed.     

Myofascial pain syndrome and trigger-point management

We have compared an immunocytochemical and a flow cytofluorimetric method to detect intracellular IFN-gamma, IL-4 and IL-5 in T-cell clones, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) cells. Intracellular bound cytokine-specific antibodies were visualized either with amino-ethyl carbazole (for immunocytochemistry), or with fluorescent antibodies (for flow cytofluorimetry). The staining was inhibited with recombinant cytokines and corresponded qualitatively and quantitatively to cytokine levels in the supernatants of T-helper-0 (Th0), Th1 and Th2 clones. In analysing in vitro stimulated cells, sufficient signal in the fluorimetric assay was only obtained after the addition of monensin to the cultures. We then observed a good correlation between immunocytochemical (with no monensin added) and the flow cytofluorimetric staining for all three cytokines (PBMC, IFN-gamma and IL-4, rho = 0.9, no IL-5 detectable; clones, IL-5, rho = 0.81, all three p < 0.05). However, compared to flow cytometry, a greater percentage of positively stained cells was frequently observed using immunocytochemistry. In BALF cells, the immunocytochemical method was able to detect significant percentages of positive cells without in vitro stimulation of the cells, in contrast to the flow cytofluorimetric method. In BALF cells from sarcoidosis patients, T-cells were mainly IFN-gamma-positive (immunocytochemically assessed), both with (mean +/- SEM, 39.7 +/- 9.8%), and without (3.5 +/- 1.3%) in vitro stimulation. In BALF cells from allergic subjects, the immunocytochemical method showed lymphocytes positive for IFN-gamma (40.3 +/- 8.3%), IL-4 (19.1 +/- 0.49) and IL-5 (6.1 +/- 3.1). We conclude that both methods can be used to assess the production of IFN-gamma, IL-4 or IL-5 at the single-cell level in T-cell clones, PBMC and cells from the BALF. The high sensitivity and the low number of cells required for the immunocytochemical method indicate that this method can provide detailed information on cytokine production of airway-derived cells in diseases with airway inflammation such as sarcoidosis and asthma.