Effect of cyclopentolate on human plasma cholinesterase

The beta-lactamase isoelectric focusing patterns of 37 strains of Yersinia enterocolitica from various serological and biochemical groups were examined. Strains of different serological groups generally had different patterns, but those of serological groups 1, 2, 3 and 9 were identical.     

Preoperative hair removal: a case report with implications for nursing

Experimental acute subdural hematoma in the rat has been shown to produce a zone of apparent infarction under the clot, and excitatory amino acid toxicity appears to play a role in the damage observed. We report the effect of dextromethorphan, a commonly used antitussive and a noncompetitive NMDA-type glutamate receptor antagonist, on the volume of histologic damage seen at 72 h after acute subdural hematoma in the rat. Sixty-five Long-Evans rats underwent placement of acute subdural hematoma using the "cranial window" model. Fourteen animals received oral dextromethorphan, 10 mg/kg/dose, twice daily for 3 days, and an additional 20 animals also received a single 20 mg/kg intraperitoneal dose 15 min after clot placement in addition to the oral regimen. Control animals received equal volumes of sterile water. Brain lesions in all animals were characterized by well-circumscribed infarctions underlying the subdural hematoma. Lesion volume in control animals was 88.3 +/- 9.3 mm3 (mean +/- standard error of the mean), while animals receiving dextromethorphan had significantly smaller lesions, which was independent of dosing schedule (59.9 +/- 9.2 mm3)(p = 0.0403). Animal weight was also found to be a significant covariate (p = 0.038). Because of its safety in humans and efficacy as a neuroprotectant in a variety of models, dextromethorphan may be a promising agent for clinical use, particularly in children.     

Interleukin-8 (IL-8), melanoma growth-stimulatory activity, and neutrophil-activating peptide selectively mediate priming of the neutrophil NADPH oxidase through the type A or type B IL-8 receptor

The capacity of neutrophils to generate superoxide (O-2) can be enhanced by prior exposure to "priming" agents such as interleukin-8 (IL-8), melanoma growth-stimulatory activity (MGSA), and neutrophil-activating peptide (ENA-78). The biological effects of these chemokines are mediated by at least two distinct receptors: type A (IL-8-RA) and type B (IL-8-RB). Using neutralizing monoclonal antibodies to IL-8-RA and IL-8-RB, we have investigated the contribution each receptor makes to the priming response. Preincubation with IL-8, MGSA, or ENA-78 enhanced the ability of neutrophils to generate O-2 following stimulation with the bacterial peptide formyl-Met-Leu-Phe. The priming effect of IL-8 was eliminated by an anti-IL-8 monoclonal antibody (mAb) that is known to bind IL-8 with high affinity and prevent receptor occupancy. Incubation of neutrophils with a neutralizing mAb specific for IL-8-RA blocked IL-8-induced priming but had no effect on priming by MGSA or ENA-78. In contrast, treatment with a neutralizing mAb specific for IL-8-RB failed to inhibit the priming effect of IL-8 but blocked both MGSA and ENA-78-induced priming. These observations indicate that the priming effect of IL-8 on the neutrophil respiratory burst is predominantly mediated via IL-8-RA, whereas priming by MGSA and ENA-78 is mediated by IL-8-RB.     

Tips for effective teaching

For all of us, one side of the brain, right or left, is the dominant hemisphere used to process information. In 9 out of 10 persons, the left temporal lobe becomes the dominant hemisphere. In the remaining one tenth of the population both sides develop at the same rate, forming "dual dominance," or, more rarely, the right side alone becomes highly developed. The left hemisphere of the brain serves as the analytical, sequential, cause and effect processor, whereas the right hemisphere of the brain is the mind's eye, assimilating information simultaneously and processing visual and nonverbal information and sound. Neither hemisphere works independently, and both are used to effectively learn new information. The creative teacher understands this arrangement and can successfully determine when a complex diagram or video is needed to teach a patient, or when only a clear voice is necessary.     

Information systems in strategic planning in healthcare

CEOs are faced with a wide variety of complex issues that threaten the very survival of the provider. In the early 1980s, the management at Harrisburg Hospital recognized that a solution was needed to deal with evolving trends and issues. That effort resulted in expanding the hospital to become a diversified but integrated healthcare delivery system--the Capital Health System.     

In vitro and in vivo evaluation of a desonide gel-cream photostabilized with benzophenone-3

Context: Our group previously reported the photoinstability of some desonide topical commercial formulations under direct exposure to UVA radiation.

Objective: This study aimed to prepare and characterize a gel-cream containing desonide, with greater photostability than the commercial gel-cream (C-GC). Benzophenone-3 (BP-3) was used as a photostabilizing agent.

Methods: The gel-cream developed (D-GC) containing BP-3 at 0.1% was prepared and characterized regarding its pH, drug content, spreadability, viscosity, in vitro drug release and in vitro permeation. The in vivo anti-inflammatory effect was assessed by ear edema measurement, croton oil-induced acute skin inflammation and myeloperoxidase assay.

Results and Discussion: D-GC presented characteristics compatible with topical application, appropriate drug content and good spreadability, and non-Newtonian behavior with pseudoplastic flow. D-GC showed a good photostability profile, presenting a desonide content of 95.70% after 48?h of exposure to UVA radiation, and stability under room conditions during 60 days. The amount of desonide released from D-GC and C-GC was 57.8 and 51.7?µg/cm², respectively, measured using the vertical Franz cell. The in vitro skin permeation showed that desonide reached the site of action of the topical corticosteroids, from both formulations; however, the desonide amount retained in the dermis was lower with D-GC. The in vivo evaluation of topical anti-inflammatory activity indicated that D-GC presented the same biological effect as C-GC.

Conclusion: D-GC represents a promising approach to treat dermatological disorders, since it presented satisfactory physicochemical characteristics, the same biological activity as C-GC and superior photostability, conferred by the addition of BP-3 at 0.1%.     

Automated wavelength selection for spectroscopic fuel models by symmetrically contracting repeated unmoving window partial least squares

The need for automated quality surveillance of liquid hydrocarbon fuels has driven the development of rapid fuel property modeling from spectroscopic sensor data. The correlation of near-infrared (NIR) and Raman spectroscopic data with jet and diesel fuel properties can be improved by the deliberate selection of continuous wavelength sub-ranges. An automatic wavelength selection strategy would allow for the unsupervised construction of partial least squares (PLS) regression models of increased predictive utility when supervised model construction and maintenance is not feasible. Changeable size moving window partial least squares (CSMWPLS) is one of the most thorough operations suited for this task. Unfortunately, the necessarily large number of PLS model constructions required by an automated version of this procedure limits the evaluation of the predictive ability of the resulting models through full cross-validation results. Presented here is a novel restricted version of the CSMWPLS algorithm in which the initial spectral range selection is accomplished through multiple interval PLS (iPLS) analyses, where analysis windows for the refinement step no longer move, and size changes are limited to a series of symmetric attenuations. It is shown that the proposed algorithm can provide significant PLS model improvements during the course of a fully automated analysis of jet and diesel fuel spectra in less time than an automated CSMWPLS algorithm.