A new quadruple therapy for the eradication of Helicobacter pylori. Effect of pretreatment with omeprazole on the cure rate

The aim of the study was to assess the speech discrimination ability of postlingually deaf adults implanted with the Combi 40 cochlear implant and to compare the results with the postoperative data published for other devices. The postoperative open and closed set speech perception performance of 21 consecutive patients was tested using a standardized test battery comprising a number, monosyllable, sentence, consonant and vowel discrimination test as well as a rhyme test in the sound only condition. Mean values achieved for each test 1, 6 and 12 months after "switch on" were evaluated. The results demonstrate that all patients have a substantial benefit from their implant and show a continuous improvement in their speech perception abilities with increased device experience. The mean percentages of correct answers after 12 months were 93.4 for numbers, 44.6 for monosyllables, 78.5 for sentences, 67.6 for the rhyme test, 59.8 for vowel, and 67.3 for consonant discrimination. Preoperatively, the mean discrimination score for monosyllables was 0%. The speech discrimination scores of our patients were similar or higher than described for similar patient groups implanted with other devices. The high stimulation rate of the implant system using the continuous interleaved speech processing strategy as well as a deep atraumatic electrode insertion into the apicalmost regions of the scala tympani may be the reason for good performance.     

Propositus with Weaver syndrome and his mildly-affected mother: implication of nontraditional inheritance?

AIMS AND BACKGROUND: Gliomas of the conus medullaris often show characteristic clinical, radiological, and intraoperative features which differ from gliomas involving other parts of the spinal cord. METHODS: Eight patients with histologically verified gliomas of the conus medullaris were diagnosed and studied. RESULTS: There were five men and three women ranging in age from 21 to 59 years. Predominant initial symptoms were back pain (4 cases) and leg weakness (4 cases). The most common findings on admission were flaccid paraparesis with impaired sensation and bladder dysfunction. Postoperative magnetic resonance (MR) images with more than 95% removal of a tumour were defined as "subtotal removal" (noted in 4 of 8 cases), and less than 95% as "partial removal" (4 of 8 cases). All patients had postoperative radiotherapy. During the follow-up period ranging from 3 to 10 years, there was no tumour recurrence or regrowth on MR images. CONCLUSIONS: The postoperative radiotherapy in gliomas of the conus medullaris where total resection is not possible seems provide a beneficial effect on preventing tumour regrowth.     

Analysis of right ventricular function during bypass of the left side of the heart by afterload alterations in both normal and failing hearts

This study investigated the mechanism of right ventricular failure during bypass of the left side of the heart by precisely assessing right ventricular function with use of a conductance catheter. Bypass of the left side of the heart was established with a centrifugal pump in 10 mongrel dogs weighing 11 to 19 kg. Right ventricular function during left heart bypass was evaluated by two parameters that were both derived from measurement of relative change in right ventricular volume by the conductance catheter technique. One parameter was the right ventricular end-systolic pressure-volume relationship as a load-independent index, and the other was the peak right ventricular pressure-right ventricular stroke volume relationship as a "force-velocity relationship." These parameters were measured in both normal and failing hearts while afterload was increased by bilateral intrapulmonary balloon inflation. Moreover, changes in these relationships were observed by varying assist ratios of left heart bypass from 0% to 100%. Failing heart models were induced by normothermic aortic clamping for 20 minutes. The right ventricular end-systolic pressure-volume relationship in normal hearts did not change, irrespective of the assist ratio of left heart bypass, whereas that in failing hearts decreased from 4.25 +/- 1.41 mm Hg/ml without bypass of the left side of the heart to 3.53 +/- 1.30 mm Hg/ml after 100% assist of left heart bypass (p < 0.05). In the peak right ventricular pressure-right ventricular stroke volume relationship, right ventricular stroke volume was almost constant in normal hearts when afterload was increased regardless of the assist ratio of left heart bypass. Moreover, right ventricular stroke volume was maintained at a higher level during bypass of the left side of the heart compared with that without left heart bypass. However, that slope of the relationship in failing hearts was inversely linear and became significantly steeper after 100% assist of bypass of the left side of the heart compared with that without left heart bypass (-0.131 +/- 0.042 versus -0.051 +/- 0.038, p < 0.005). Therefore ++these two slopes of the relationship intersected at a point that was considered the critical point of afterload during bypass of the left side of the heart. In other words, right ventricular stroke volume was decreased by 100% left heart bypass above the critical point of afterload. In conclusion, this study demonstrates not only that bypass of the left side of the heart results in an increase in right ventricular stroke volume in both normal and failing hearts at the physiologic range of afterload, but also that right ventricular function against higher afterload is impaired by 100% assist of bypass of the left side of the heart in failing hearts.     

Successful electroconvulsive therapy of Cotard syndrome with bitemporal hypoperfusion

A case study is presented to illustrate a rare condition described by Cotard as "délire de négation". The central symptom is a nihilistic delusion with denial of one's own existence of oneself and that of the external world. In the present case, the syndrome became manifest as an escalation of a recurrent depressive disorder late in life. After initial resistance to therapy, the syndrome was successfully treated with electroconvulsive therapy. For the first time, we report the regional cerebral blood flow measured by 99mTc-HMPAO-SPECT before and after therapy. Before treatment, significant bitemporal hypoperfusion relative to the cerebellum was found, which was no longer demonstrable on remission.     

An application of the 2-nitrobenzenesulfenyl method to proteomic profiling of human colorectal carcinoma: A novel approach for biomarker discovery

In the development of novel biomarkers, the proteomic approach is advantageous because using it the cancer-associated proteins can be directly identified. We previously developed a 2-nitrobenzenesulfenyl (NBS) method to improve quantitative proteome analysis. Here, we applied this method to proteomic profiling of colorectal carcinoma (CRC) to identify novel proteins with altered expression in CRC. Each pair of tumor and normal tissue specimens from 12 CRC patients was analyzed, and approximately 5000 NBS-labeled paired peaks were quantified. Peaks with altered signal intensities (>1.5-fold) and occurring frequently in the samples (>70%) were selected, and 128 proteins were identified by MS/MS analyses as differentially expressed proteins in CRC tissues. Many proteins were newly revealed to be CRC related; 30 were reported in earlier studies of CRC. Six proteins that were up-regulated in CRC (ZYX, RAN, RCN1, AHCY, LGALS1, and VIM) were further characterized and validated by Western blot and immunohistochemistry. All six were found to be CRC-localized, either in cancer cells or in stroma cells near the cancer cells. These results indicate that the proteins identified in this study are novel candidates for CRC markers, and that the NBS method is useful in proteome mining to discover novel biomarkers.     

Calderon's preconditioning for periodic fast multipole method for elastodynamics in 3D

Preconditioning methods based on Calderon's formulae for the periodic fast multipole method for elastodynamics in 3D are investigated. Three different types of formulations are proposed. The first type is a preconditioning just by appropriately ordering the coefficient matrix without multiplying preconditioners. The other two types utilise preconditioners constructed using matrices needed in the main fast multipole method algorithms. We make several numerical experiments with proposed preconditioners to confirm the efficiency of these proposed methods. We also conclude that the preconditioning of the first type is faster with respect to the computational time than other preconditioning methods discussed in this article. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mammalian Cytochrome P450-Dependent Metabolism of Polychlorinated Dibenzo-p-dioxins and Coplanar Polychlorinated Biphenyls

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) contribute to dioxin toxicity in humans and wildlife after bioaccumulation through the food chain from the environment. The authors examined human and rat cytochrome P450 (CYP)-dependent metabolism of PCDDs and PCBs. A number of human CYP isoforms belonging to the CYP1 and CYP2 families showed remarkable activities toward low-chlorinated PCDDs. In particular, human CYP1A1, CYP1A2, and CYP1B1 showed high activities toward monoCDDs, diCDDs, and triCDDs but no detectable activity toward 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (2,3,7,8-tetraCDD). Large amino acids located at putative substrate-recognition sites and the F-G loop in rat CYP1A1 contributed to the successful metabolism of 2,3,7,8-tetraCDD. Rat, but not human, CYP1A1 metabolized 3,3'',4,4'',5-pentachlorobiphenyl (CB126) to two hydroxylated metabolites. These metabolites are probably less toxic than is CB126, due to their higher solubility. Homology models of human and rat CYP1A1s and CB126 docking studies indicated that two amino acid differences in the CB126-binding cavity were important for CB126 metabolism. In this review, the importance of CYPs in the metabolism of dioxins and PCBs in mammals and the species-based differences between humans and rats are described. In addition, the authors reveal the molecular mechanism behind the binding modes of dioxins and PCBs in the heme pocket of CYPs.     

Gel permeation chromatography of polyoxymethylene

Gel permeation chromatography of polyoxymethylene has been studied using N,N-dimethylformamide as the solvent. Polyoxymethylene samples used here are a copolymer of tetraoxane with 1,3-dioxolane and a commercial polyoxymethylene whose molecular weight distributions are moderately broad. Their intrinsic viscosities [η] range from 1.4 to 2.8 dl/g. Factors affecting chromatograms are discussed, and the operating conditions were determined by using the analytical scale GPC. On the basis of these operating conditions, the molecular weight fractionation of polyoxymethylene was carried out by using the preparative scale GPC. It was found that polyoxymethylene can be effectively fractionated to give seven to ten fractions each of them containing the fractionated polymer ranging in weight from 0.2 to 8 mg when 40 mg polymer sample was used for a run of the measurement. The fractionated polymers were also found to have a narrow molecular weight distribution within a single peak, and their M_w/M_n values decrease with increasing molecular weight.     

Synthesis and Photoluminescence of Eu2+-Doped α-Silicon Nitride Nanowires Coated with Thin BN Film

A feasible doping strategy is introduced to synthesize Eu²⁺-doped α-Si₃N₄ nanowires coated with a thin BN film. The nanowires were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and a fluorescence spectrophotometer. The Eu²⁺-doped α-Si₃N₄ nanowires emitted strong yellow light, which is related to the 4 f ⁶5 d –4 f ⁷ transition of Eu²⁺, upon a broad excitation wavelength range between 250 and 450 nm. The obtained nanowires provided a potential candidate for application in optical nanodevices, as well as in white LEDs.