Pre- and postoperative imaging analysis for frontal sinus disease following conservative partial middle turbinate resection

The prudence of partial or complete middle turbinate resection during endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) is controversial. The greatest concern regarding partial resection relates to the effect on the frontal recess and the development of frontal sinus disease. The purpose of this study was to radiographically evaluate the frontal sinus in patients who had undergone ESS with partial conservative middle turbinate resection. We reviewed the charts and operative records from 195 consecutive cases of ESS performed by a single surgeon (JFB) over a two-year period. Thirty-three of 117 patients who had undergone ESS with conservative partial middle turbinate resection without frontal recess exploration agreed to return for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of their sinuses. The preoperative computed tomography (CT) scans and postoperative MR images were reviewed and graded (1-3) by a single neuroradiologist. Significant frontal sinus disease (grades 2 and 3) was seen in 15 of 52 sides preoperatively (29%), and in 14 sides postoperatively (27%). During the postoperative MRI studies, only six frontal sinus sides demonstrated minimal mucosal thickening (grade 1) which had not been apparent on preoperative CT. This radiographic analysis suggests that conservative partial middle turbinate resection during ESS does not adversely affect the frontal sinus. We believe that the surgical technique employed when resecting the middle turbinate, and the avoidance of unnecessary dissection in the recess are both important factors in preventing the development of frontal sinus disease following ESS.     

Functional consequences of central serotonin depletion produced by repeated fenfluramine administration in rats

Repeated administration of D,L-fenfluramine (FEN) is known to cause prolonged depletion of forebrain serotonin (5-HT) in animals. Ironically, few studies have evaluated functional consequences of such FEN-induced 5-HT loss. In the present work, we examined neuroendocrine and behavioral responses evoked by acute FEN injection in rats that had previously received a 4 d FEN-dosing regimen known to deplete forebrain 5-HT (D,L-FEN, 20 mg/kg, s.c., b. i.d.). Rats were fitted with indwelling jugular catheters before the study to allow for repeated intravenous challenge injections and stress-free blood sampling. At 1 and 2 weeks after the 4 d dosing regimen, acute FEN (1.5 or 3.0 mg/kg, i.v.) produced dose-related elevations in plasma corticosterone and prolactin; these hormonal responses were markedly attenuated in FEN-pretreated rats. Behavioral effects of acute FEN, namely flat body posture and forepaw treading, were also blunted in FEN-pretreated rats. Interestingly, rats exposed to repeated FEN did not display overt abnormalities in hormonal or behavioral parameters under basal (i.e., unprovoked) conditions, despite dramatic decreases in postmortem tissue levels of 5-HT in numerous brain areas. Our results suggest that FEN-induced 5-HT depletion is accompanied by multiple impairments in 5-HT function. Although the clinical relevance of our data are debatable, the findings clearly show the utility of the FEN challenge test for uncovering in vivo functional deficits that might otherwise go undetected. FEN should remain an important pharmacological tool for determining the role of 5-HT neurons in mediating diverse physiological and behavioral processes.     

How employment helps female victims of intimate partner violence: A qualitative study.

This exploratory, qualitative study documents ways in which being employed is helpful to victims of intimate partner violence (IPV). The authors conducted in-depth interviews with 21 women employed by a large health care organization in a major U.S. city. Through content analysis, the authors identified six ways in which employment was helpful to participants: by (1) improving their finances, (2) promoting physical safety, (3) increasing self-esteem, (4) improving social connectedness, (5) providing mental respite, and (6) providing motivation or a "purpose in life." Findings suggest that employment can play a critically important, positive role in the lives of IPV victims. The importance of flexible leave-time policies and employer assistance to IPV victims is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pyrophoricity and stability of copper and platinum based water-gas shift catalysts during oxidative shut-down/start-up operation

The pyrophoricity of Cu/ZnO-based and Pt-based catalysts was studied during oxidative shut-down/start-up of the low-temperature water-gas shift (LT-WGS) reaction to assess whether these catalysts are suitable for fuel cell application. The Cu/ZnO-based catalysts were observed to display high levels of pyrophoricity manifested as a sharp temperature rise of the catalyst bed upon air introduction. This promoted severe sintering of the bulk and metallic phases of the catalyst facilitating catalyst deactivation. No pyrophoricity was observed for any of the Pt-based catalysts; however, sintering of the metallic phase in Pt/TiO₂ and Pt/ZrO₂ persisted, leading to a decrease in activity. It was likely that the sintering of Pt occurred during LT-WGS operation itself. In contrast, Pt/CeO₂ was the only catalyst which retained its activity, displaying no loss in specific surface area or metal dispersion throughout the entire process making it the most suitable candidate of the materials investigated for fuel cell systems. Temperature-programmed oxidation studies indicated deactivation by the oxidative shut-down/start-up operation did not result from the build-up of carbonaceous species.     

The Effect of Grain Size on the Mechanical and Optical Properties of Spark Plasma Sintering‐Processed Magnesium Aluminate Spinel MgAl2O4

The study deals with the effect of the SPS parameters and LiF doping on the mechanical and optical properties polycrystalline magnesium aluminate spinel (PMAS) with emphasis on the grain size of the final product. Sintering at 1300°C of undoped powder yielded fully dense submicrometer (0.4–0.6 μm) samples with elevated mechanical properties (1600HV and 300MPa bending strength). Doped samples had a larger, 40 μm grain size, lower, 1450HV, hardness and 150MPa bending strength. The transmittance of the doped samples (80% at 500 nm wavelength) was higher than that of the undoped ones. Thus, the required functionality of the ceramic dictates the choice of parameters for the fabrication of dense transparent PMAS.     

Membrane extraction of a new antibiotic (Shengjimycin): equilibrium and mass transfer analysis

BACKGROUND: During the last two decades, separations based on liquid membrane technology have been demonstrated to be a potentially attractive process for a large number of industrial separations. The advantages of this technology over the current separation processes allowed its commercialization in the area of chemical/environmental applications (for the removal of toxic metals). Efforts are being devoted to biotechnological processes where membrane extraction has an added advantage of improving the productivity by removing inhibitory product during its production cycle. In this article the applicability of a membrane extraction technique based on hollow‐fibre membrane modules is investigated to extract a new antibiotic, Shengjimycin (SJM). SJM is produced in a multicomponent fermentation broth, from which the main components required to be separated selectively. RESULTS: From equilibrium experiments, sunflower oil, a cheap and less toxic solvent, was found to be good for the extraction of SJM at its natural pH of 7.2–7.8. Addition of a small amount (1.5%) of Amberlite LA‐2 (a carrier) in the solvent could intensify the process to achieve a high distribution coefficient. The process using this organic phase (Amberlite LA‐2 in sunflower oil) gave good extraction (ca 70%) within 3–4 h in a pilot‐scale hollow‐fibre membrane module. This new system is preferred over the toxic solvents being used or tried because of its cost, less toxicity, low environmental impact and operator‐friendliness. CONCLUSIONS: Because of the above‐mentioned favourable characteristics this membrane extraction method has the potential to be sustainable and effective as it has shown selective separation of the desired component from a multicomponent mixture. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

The Strategic Use of Gain- and Loss-Framed Messages to Promote Healthy Behavior: How Theory Can Inform Practice

Message framing provides a theoretically grounded approach to the development of effective health messages. In this study, we review the state of research and theory on message framing ( Rothman & Salovey, 1997 ), and how it can inform efforts to enhance health practices throughout the cancer care continuum. Gain-framed appeals are more effective when targeting behaviors that prevent the onset of disease, whereas loss-framed appeals are more effective when targeting behaviors that detect the presence of a disease. In light of these findings, we consider how message frames may affect other types of health behaviors and identify the need to understand better the processes that shape how people construe health behaviors.     

Recruitment and selection of couples for intervention research: Achieving developmental homogeneity at the cost of demographic diversity.

Demographic and relationship quality data were collected from 704 individuals recruited to participate in a randomized study of relationship enhancing interventions. Recruiting at bridal shows produced partners who were more satisfied, earlier in their relationships, and less likely to be parents, with a marginally higher proportion of Latino couples. Radio and television coverage produced more established couples with higher levels of relationship discord. Self-selection effects revealed that couples from demographic groups at greater risk for divorce (those who had not completed high school, those with children at marriage, and African American couples) were more likely to agree to participate. In contrast, imposing a set of common selection criteria served to exclude couples from demographic risk groups and selected for couples with higher marital quality. Implications for recruiting couples to participate in preventive interventions are outlined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Protein sorting by transport vesicles

Eukaryotic life depends on the spatial and temporal organization of cellular membrane systems. Recent advances in understanding the machinery of vesicle transport have established general principles that underlie a broad variety of physiological processes, including cell surface growth, the biogenesis of distinct intracellular organelles, endocytosis, and the controlled release of hormones and neurotransmitters.     

Urinary mutagenicity as a biomarker in workers exposed to benzidine: correlation with urinary metabolites and urothelial DNA adducts

Urinary mutagenicity has been used in occupational and epidemiological studies for over two decades as a cost-effective, general biomarker of exposure to genotoxic agents. However, few studies have compared urinary mutagenicity to additional biomarkers determined among low- and high-exposed groups. To address this issue, we evaluated the relationship between urinary mutagenicity and other types of biomarkers in a cross-sectional study involving 15 workers exposed to the urinary bladder carcinogen benzidine (BZ, high exposure), 15 workers exposed to BZ-dyes (low exposure), and 13 unexposed controls in Ahmedabad, India. Urinary organics were extracted by C18/methanol and evaluated for mutagenicity in the presence of S9 in the Salmonella strain YG1024, which is a frameshift strain that overproduces acetyltransferase. The results were compared to biomarker data reported recently from the same urine samples (Rothman et al., Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA, 93, 5084-5089, 1996) that included a metabolite biomarker (the sum of the urinary levels of BZ + N-acetylbenzidine + N,N'-diacetylbenzidine) and a DNA adduct biomarker [a presumptive N-(3'-phosphodeoxyguanosin-8-yl)-N'-acetylbenzidine (C8dG-ABZ) DNA adduct in exfoliated urothelial cells]. The mean +/- SE urinary mutagenicity (revertants/micromol of creatinine) of the low-exposure (BZ-dye) workers was 8.2 +/- 2.4, which was significantly different from the mean of the controls (2.8 +/- 0.7, P = 0.04) as was that of the mean of the high-exposure (BZ) workers (123.2 +/- 26.1, P < 0.0001). Urinary mutagenicity showed strong, positive correlations with urinary metabolites (r = 0.88, P < 0.0001) and the level of the presumptive C8dG-ABZ urothelial DNA adduct (r = 0.59, P = 0.0006). A strong association was found between tobacco use (bidi smoking) and urinary mutagenicity among the controls (r = 0.68, P = 0.01) but not among the exposed workers (r = 0.18, P = 0.11). This study confirms the ability of a biomarker such as urinary mutagenicity to detect low-dose exposures, identify additional genotoxic exposures among the controls, and correlate strongly with urinary metabolites and DNA adducts in the target tissue (urinary bladder epithelia) in humans.