A simple method to create buttonhole cannulation tracks in a busy hemodialysis unit

The preference for fistulae as the hemodialysis access of choice has led to a significant number of accesses that are less than ideal for cannulation. Buttonhole cannulation is ideal for such accesses, but the technique for creation provides major challenges. In 12 patients, buttonhole tunnel tracks were created by leaving the polyurethane catheter of a Clampcath^® hemodialysis needle indwelling for 10 days after the initial cannulation. After each dialysis the catheter was flushed, and dressed with an antibacterial ointment and gauze. Dialysis was carried out via the catheter during that time. After day 10, the catheter was removed, the tunnel track covered with an antibacterial dressing and the tunnel track was cannulated with a dull buttonhole needle at the next dialysis. Successful buttonhole accesses were created in 11 patients after 10 days, the 12th patient required a single sharp needle cannulation before using dull needles. During the first 2 weeks of dull needle cannulation both pain experienced on cannulation and the difficulty cannulating the access were significantly less than in the classical buttonhole technique (P<0.01). Complications during the follow-up period (6 months–1.5 years) included difficulty cannulating with a dull needle (22) and antibacterial agent induced contact dermatitis (4). There was no episode of sepsis or tunnel track infection. Initial cannulation of the fistula using a Clampcath^® hemodialysis needle, leaving the polyurethane catheter indwelling for 10 days, is a simple, safe, and effective technique for the creation of buttonhole tunnel tracks.     

Antiatherogenic effects of the antioxidant BO-653 in three different animal models

Antioxidants have been proposed to have antiatherogenic potential by their inhibition of low density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation. Here, we report an antioxidant, BO-653 (2,3-dihydro-5-hydroxy-2, 2-dipentyl-4,6-di-tert-butylbenzofuran), designed to exhibit antioxidative potency comparable to that of alpha-tocopherol, but yet possess a high degree of lipophilicity comparable to that of probucol. BO-653 exhibits a high affinity for LDL and is well distributed in aortic vessels in vivo. In atherosclerosis models of rabbits and mice, BO-653 has been shown to be able to suppress the formation of atherosclerotic lesions without untoward side effects. Specifically, there was no reduction of high density lipoprotein levels. This antioxidant provides additional evidence in support of the oxidized-LDL hypothesis, and itself is a promising candidate antioxidant for clinical use.     

Effect of surface modifiers on the electrode reactions and conformation of cytochrome c3 adsorbed on a silver electrode

Higher rates of left-handedness and atypical lateralization in schizophrenics paired with findings of morphological abnormalities in cerebral asymmetry suggest that the normal patterns of hemisphere specialization for processing verbal and spatial information may be anomalous in schizophrenics. The small number of studies that have addressed this question have produced inconsistent findings and varied with subtype diagnosis, gender, type of task employed, task difficulty, and control of handedness. Conflicting research findings also may be due to confounding from the heterogeneity of the schizophrenic construct and variability in clinical symptoms across patients. The present study was designed to control for factors that may have confounded earlier studies. Because the study used perceptual measures, the relationship between symptoms of perceptual aberration and hemisphere advantages was examined using Chapman et al.'s (1978) Perceptual Aberration Scale (PAS). Fifteen male schizophrenic patients and 14 male controls were administered tachistoscopic letter and facial recognition go/no-go reaction time tasks. Left hemisphere advantages were found for both controls and schizophrenics on the letter task. Right hemisphere advantages were found for controls on the facial task but not schizophrenics. Instead, a strong negative correlation was found between schizophrenics' PAS scores and hemisphere advantages (r = -0.685, p < 0.007). Further analysis identified a subgroup of schizophrenics with perceptual aberration who exhibited reversed left hemisphere advantages that increased as the PAS scores increased. Additional research is needed to determine whether this subgroup of schizophrenics constitutes a meaningful subtype with a distinct disease process that disrupts the development of normal cerebral lateralization. The findings provide further evidence for the importance of examining relationships between schizophrenics' performance on cognitive measures and their symptom patterns.     

Fumonisin contamination of maize in Burkina Faso, West Africa.

Maize throughout the world is frequently contaminated with a family of mycotoxins, the fumonisins, produced by species of Fusaria. The study investigated the level of fumonisin contamination of maize samples from village farms and large market traders in Burkina Faso, West Africa. Maize samples (5 kg) from each of five to six large storage barns from farms in five villages in the district of N'Dorola, Kénédougou province, western Burkina Faso, were sampled (n = 26) in Jan 1999 (> 1 year storage), and a further 26 maize samples from the same farms were collected directly from the field in October 1999. In addition, 72 maize samples were obtained in July 1999 from large markets in Bobo Dioulasso. Fumonisins were extracted from dried maize, derivatized with o-phthaldialdehyde and quantified by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. All 26 samples from the first (mean 1170 microg kg(-1), range 110-3120 microg kg(-1)) and from the second (mean 130 microg kg(-1), range 10-450 microg kg(-1)) village collection were fumonisin positive. All 72 maize samples from the large markets were also positive for fumonisins, and had the highest levels of contamination (mean 2900 microg kg(-1), range 130-16,040 microg kg(-1)). As fumonisins were a ubiquitous contaminant of maize and given that this crop is a dietary staple in this region, chronic exposure is likely.     

Evaluation of serum KL-6 levels in summer-type hypersensitivity pneumonitis

A high level of serum KL-6 is a known feature of active pulmonary fibrosis. Some researchers have suggested that KL-6 is produced and secreted by type II pneumocytes. The present study evaluated serum KL-6 levels in patients with summer-type hypersensitivity pneumonitis (summer-type HP) (n = 6, 7 episodes), Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (n = 16), Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia (n = 3), Chlamydia pneumoniae pneumonia (n = 9), and bacterial pneumonia (n = 12). In addition, transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB) specimens were examined pathologically in order to identify the site of production and secretion of KL-6. In patients with summer-type HP, the serum KL-6 levels exceeded 500 U/ml (2.996 +/- 2.016 U/ml), but was below 500 U/ml (302 +/- 126 U/ml, p < 0.001) in the patients with other infectious pneumonias, with the exception of two. One of these two patients with a high serum KL-6 level had adult respiratory distress syndrome due to Mycoplasma pneumoniae. The other had organizing pneumonia due to Chlamydia pneumoniae. TBLB specimens showed proliferative type II pneumocytes in all summer-type HP cases. We believe that the high serum KL-6 levels were produced by type II pneumocytes, and may provide a useful indicating serum marker for HP. Although serum LDH, serum CRP and PaO2 are known as monitoring markers in summer-type HP, our findings demonstrated no manifest correlations among these markers. However, serum KL-6 levels showed a strong positive correlation with serum LDH levels and an inverse correlation with serum CRP levels. These results suggest that serum KL-6 may be a better marker of the degree of disease activity than serum LDH, CRP, or PaO2 in summer-type HP.     

Serum human hepatocyte growth factor (hHGF) is elevated in patients with metastatic gastric carcinoma

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a stromally derived protein growth factor that modulates epithelial cell proliferation and motility. HGF may therefore be involved in tumor progression. METHODOLOGY: We measured the immunoreactive (ir)-HGF concentration in the sera of 56 patients with human gastric carcinoma, using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and evaluated its association with clinical and histopathologic factors. Clinical stages were classified in accordance with The General Rules for TNM Classification (International Union Against Cancer). RESULTS: The serum hHGF concentrations from patients with gastric carcinoma significantly increased with increasing pathologic tumor grades. Also, there were significantly higher concentrations in patients with nodal metastasis compared to patients without metastasis. The serum hHGF concentrations in patients with liver metastasis were significantly higher than in patients without liver metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: These data show that the serum hHGF concentration is elevated in gastric carcinoma patients with liver and nodal metastasis. In multivariate analysis, the serum hHGF concentration was found to be the most important independent factor in predicting overall survival. Thus, the current results suggest that HGF may be important in the progression and metastasis of gastric carcinoma.     

Interaction of sodium dodecyl sulfate and of non-ionic detergents with S-carboxyamidomethyl-k-casein

Sodium dodecyl sulfate binds to S-carboxyamidomethyl-k-casein in a highly cooperative manner at a concentration near the critical micelle concentration, showing a strong dependence on ionic strength. The maximum number of sodium dodecyl sulfate molecules bound is attained above the critical micelle concentration, and is very close to the micelle aggregation number in the absence of protein. The binding sites on the protein for sodium dodecyl sulfate are localized mainly on para-k-casein part, which is a hydrophobic fragment of k-casein produced by rennin attack. The mode of the action of sodium dodecyl sulfate on S-carboxyamidomethyl-k-casein resembles that of several integral membrane proteins, rather than of water soluble proteins. On considering possible situations, it is suggested that the unusual interaction of S-carboxyamidomethyl-k-casein with sodium dodecyl sulfate is responsible for an anomalous migration of reduced k-casein observed in sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Further, the suggestion was made by the binding studies of sodium dodecyl sulfate and non-ionic detergents that the sites which were involved in self-association of S-carboxyamidomethyl-k-casein participated in the binding sites of detergents.     

Novel episomal vectors and a highly efficient transformation procedure for the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces japonicus

Schizosaccharomyces japonicus is a fission yeast for which new genetic tools have recently been developed. Here, we report novel plasmid vectors with high transformation efficiency and an electroporation method for Sz. japonicus. We isolated 44 replicating segments from 12 166 transformants of Sz. japonicus genomic fragments and found a chromosomal fragment, RS1, as a new replicating sequence that conferred high transformation activity to Sz. japonicus cells. This sequence was cloned into a pUC19 vector with ura4⁺ of Sz. pombe (pSJU11) or the kan gene on the kanMX6 module (pSJK11) as selection markers. These plasmids transformed Sz. japonicus cells in the early‐log phase by electroporation at a frequency of 123 cfu/µg for pSJK11 and 301 cfu/µg for pSJU11, which were higher than previously reported autonomously replicating sequences. Although a portion of plasmids remained in host cells by integration into the chromosome via RS1 segment, the plasmids could be recovered from transformants. The plasmid copy number was estimated to be 1.88 copies per cell by Southern blot analysis using a Sz. pombe ura4⁺ probe. The plasmid containing ade6⁺ suppressed the auxotrophic growth of the ade6‐domE mutant, indicating that the plasmid would be useful for suppressor screening and complementation assays in Sz. japonicus. Furthermore, pSJU11 transformed Sz. pombe cells with the same frequency as the pREP2 plasmid. This study is a report to demonstrate practical use of episomal plasmid vectors for genetic research in Sz. japonicus. RS1 has been submitted to the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank database (Accession No. AB547343). Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.