The seasonal characteristics of the course of abdominal typhus

Seasonal fluctuations were studied in the incidence of characteristic abdominal fever symptoms, such as headache, insomnia, asthenia, skin pallor, roseolous eruptions, protracted fever, drop in blood pressure, relative bradycardia, dicrotia, typhoid tongue, enlargement of the liver and spleen, meteorism, constipation, palpable crepitation in the right iliac region, manifest leucopenia. Some symptoms occurred with almost equal frequency in different seasons of the year. In adults, severity of some typhoid symptoms was the greatest, duration the longest, degree the highest in spring, followed, in decreasing rank order by autumn > summer > winter; in children: spring > summer > autumn > winter.     

Endoscopic subperiosteal browlift and facelift

The subperiosteal facelift is an excellent technique for remodeling particularly the central third of the face. The endoscope has allowed us to perform rejuvenation of the upper face or the total face without incisional scars. On the other hand, the introduction of the endoscopic techniques to the biplanar surgery allowed us to perform the deep dissection with more safety and accuracy and to eliminate or decrease some of the undesirable sequelae of the traditional approaches such as the numbness on the forehead beyond the hairline or scalp incisions. In the lower face, the endoscopic techniques allowed us to protect the marginal mandibular branch of the facial nerve, and, on the neck, these techniques allowed us to perform a very accurate subplatysma dissection. The endoscope has allowed us to create a new technique for facial rejuvenation that can be equal to and perhaps in some cases even more versatile than other traditional, nonendoscopic approaches. In this way, we can tailor the operative procedure to the patient's needs rather than to give one type of operation to every patient that walks in for an office consultation. It will become imperative to outline the indications, contraindications, and limitations of each variation and to determine the appropriate role of the endoscope in facial rejuvenation. Only then will we better serve our colleagues and our patients.     

Fibrous dysplasia of the spine, costae and hemipelvis with sarcomatous transformation

We describe a patient with polyostotic fibrous dysplasia and secondary malignant fibrous histiocytoma in a spinal lesion.     

The laboratory diagnosis of spring-summer infections in Yekaterinburg in the epidemic season for tick-borne encephalitis

The authors propose a comprehensive approach to laboratory diagnosis of seasonal transmissible infections, based on modern methods permitting etiological deciphering of disease. A universal diagnostic algorithm notably accelerated the laboratory diagnosis due to cutting the period between collection of material from a patient and consecutive screening for antibodies to agents of tick-borne encephalitis, Lyme disease, and California encephalitis.     

Transit-time flow measurement for detection of early graft failure during myocardial revascularization

BACKGROUND: A low-flow situation in arterial and venous grafts has been associated with high rates of perioperative infarction and mortality. This study was designed to look at intraoperative graft flow and resistance in patients with coronary artery disease. METHODS: Coronary artery bypass graft flow was measured in 46 patients. Transit-time flow was used for coronary flow measurements at rest as well as after maximal vasodilation with adenosine infusion. RESULTS: Forty-three of the 46 patients showed normal internal mammary artery graft flow (>20 mL/min); 3 patients had no or minimal graft flow. Redoing the graft anastomosis in these 3 patients resulted in normalization of graft flow. The mean flow increased significantly after correction from 0.5 +/- 0.7 mL/min to 15.7 +/- 9.6 mL/min (p < 0.02). Conversely, vascular resistance decreased significantly from 138 +/- 10 to 4.8 +/- 1.8 Ohmv (p < 0.0001), as did the pulsatility index (from 146.9 +/- 95.7 to 3.4 +/- 1.8; p < 0.001). After correction, coronary flow reserve was 2.5 +/- 1.1. CONCLUSIONS: Measurements of intraoperative flow and resistance as well as derived variables allow assessment of early graft function and thus help prevent graft failure and reduce perioperative infarction. Transit-time volume flow might be a simple tool for quality control in coronary bypass procedures.     

Campus courtship behavior and fear of human immunodeficiency virus infection by university students

Data were collected by telephone from a random sample of 762 students at the University of Northern Colorado to examine students' fear of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and their suggested approaches to prevent the spread of the disease. Of the 762 students interviewed, 177 (24.1%) believed that HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) was a threat to socialization on campus. Fourteen percent of the female students considered HIV/AIDS to be a threat compared with 10.1% of their male counterparts. Among all interviewees, 573 (76.7%) believed HIV/AIDS was a threat to romance at the university. Statistically significant association was found between the perceived fear of HIV/AIDS and gender. With regard to actual sexual intercourse, 86.4% of the students believed that HIV/AIDS was a major threat compared with 13.6% who did not. The association between the perception about HIV/AIDS as a threat to on-campus sexual intercourse and gender was statistically significant. Of the entire sample, 69.3% suggested abstinence as an approach to avoid HIV infection. Slightly more than 24% suggested condom use. Eighteen (10.8%) students advised that sexual contact should be only with a trusted partner. More information about HIV/AIDS should be provided to all students, especially women, in institutions of higher learning. More information can reduce the fear associated with this deadly disease.     

Unusual nasal foreign body detected on routine dental radiography: case report

This report describes an unusual nasal foreign body in a 4-year-old boy discovered incidentally in a routine dental radiograph. A small piece of rubber eraser was lodged in the right nasal cavity, causing unilateral nasal obstruction and discharge, sneezing, snoring and breathing difficulty. In this case, discovery of unknown intranasal object was diagnostic for a condition suspected of pathological origin. Dentists may play a significant role in the diagnosis of intranasal foreign objects in children, through careful clinical examination and interpretation of dental radiographs. Early diagnosis is emphasized in order to avoid complications.     

The two [4Fe-4S] clusters in Chromatium vinosum ferredoxin have largely different reduction potentials. Structural origin and functional consequences

The 2[4Fe-4S] ferredoxin from Chromatium vinosum arises as one prominent member of a recently defined family of proteins found in very diverse bacteria. The potentiometric circular dichroism titrations of the protein and of several molecular variants generated by site-directed mutagenesis have established that the reduction potentials of the two clusters differ widely by almost 200 mV. This large difference has been confirmed by electrochemical methods, and each redox transition has been assigned to one of the clusters. The unusually low potential center is surprisingly the one that displays a conventional CX1X2CX3X4C (Xn, variable amino acid) binding motif and a structural environment similar to that of clusters having less negative potentials. A comparison with other ferredoxins has highlighted factors contributing to the reduction potential of [4Fe-4S] clusters in proteins. (i) The loop between the coordinating cysteines 40 and 49 and the C terminus alpha-helix of C. vinosum ferredoxin cause a negative, but relatively moderate, shift of approximately 60 mV for the nearby cluster. (ii) Very negative potentials, below -600 mV, correlate with the presence of a bulky side chain in position X4 of the coordinating triad of cysteines. These findings set the framework in which previous observations on ferredoxins can be better understood. They also shed light onto the possible occurrence and properties of very low potential [4Fe-4S] clusters in less well characterized proteins.