The surgical treatment of disorders in the formation and fusion of the lumbar vertebrae in children

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the value of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for follow-up patients infected by Chlamydia trachomatis. METHODS: Follow-up specimens were collected from 30 patients. Chlamydia trachomatis positive were detected by PCR and direct fluorescence assay test (DFA) in the 30 patients before therapy. 15 patients were treated with minocycline (100 mg twice daily) for 10 days, and 15 patients were treated with 1.0 g of azithromycine as a single oral dose. RESULTS: After 1-2 weeks of antimicrobial therapy, all patients had negative DFA for Chlamydia trachomatis, but 9 had positive Chlamydia trachomatis DNA as detected by PCR. CONCLUSIONS: The 9 specimens were not confirmed to livae viable organisms of Chlamydia trachomatis. The debris of nonviable Chlamydia trachomatis DNA was excluded from urinogenital tract at about one month.     

The intra-aortic antibacterial therapy of wounded patients with gunshot meningoencephalitis

The original decision of permanent introduction of antibacterial means to tissues of brain at gunshot meningoencephalitis is offered. For antibacterial therapy the intra-aortal catheter with diameter of 2,5 mm (through a.femoralis) was introduced. After washing the catheter by solution of crystalloid with heparin the various combinations of preparations in 5% solution of glucose were introduced: cephalosporin--8 g/day; hentamicin and brumacilin--240 mg/day accordingly, amicacin--1500 mg/day. Speed of introduction--20-50 mg/h, total volume--500 ml. The catheter was in aorta not more than 10 days, maximum--14 days. A described technique was applied in Burdenko Main Military Clinical Hospital on 34 wounded in head. At computer tomography of brain of all wounded intracranially the splinters and bullets were revealed, clinically--meningoencephalitis. Foreign bodies have been extracted after cupping of clinical and laboratory signs of meningoencephalitis. The authors consider, that the technique is effective not only at wounds of brain, but also at suppurative meningoencephalitis of other etiology.     

Chloroquine, quinine and quinidine inhibit calcium release from macrophage intracellular stores by blocking inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate binding to its receptor

Endocrine and exocrine pancreatic morphogenesis is known to occur from ductal epithelium, but the factors that regulate this process are unknown. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)/vascular permeability factor has recently been reported to affect fetal islet ontogenesis. VEGF is an angiogenic factor with a growth-promoting effect that is thought to be restricted to vascular endothelial cells. We demonstrated that VEGF is also a mitogen for adult rat pancreatic duct epithelial cells in primary culture. VEGF supplementation to a serum-free culture medium increased the 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine-pulse labeling index of ductal cells more than 2-fold. Immunohistochemical staining and protein blots revealed that pancreatic duct cells express fetal liver kinase-1 high-affinity receptors for VEGF. In pancreatic tissue, immunohistochemistry shows that VEGF peptide is expressed in normal pancreatic islet cells. In duct ligation-induced acute pancreatitis, numerous inflammatory leukocytes containing VEGF were seen to infiltrate between hyperplastic ducts. In the latter model, islet neogenesis has previously been observed. Our data indicate the possibility that VEGF plays a role in the paracrine regulation of ductal growth and differentiation in vivo, eg, in pancreatitis. In vitro, however, VEGF did not induce endocrine differentiation of ductal cells, indicating that it is not the only factor required for the activation of islet neogenesis.     

A morphofunctional validation of the use of electrostimulation by paired impulses combined with vibromassage for the treatment of patients with trauma to the peripheral nerves of the extremities

The exposure to paired electric impulses and vibromassage promotes completeness of repair in the treatment of injured peripheral nerves of the limb. The effect is achieved due to marked stimulation of myelinization and differentiation of the nerve fibers, regeneration of the nerve system in the denervated muscle.     

Scene Graph and Frame Update Algorithms for Smooth and Scalable 3D Visualization of Simulated Construction Operations

One of the prime reasons inhibiting the widespread use of discrete-event simulation in construction planning is the absence of appropriate visual communication tools. Visualizing modeled operations in 3D is arguably the best form of communicating the logic and the inner working of simulation models and can be of immense help in establishing the credibility of analyses. New software development technologies emerge at incredible rates that allow engineers and scientists to create novel, domain-specific applications. The authors capitalized on a computer graphics technology based on the concept of the scene graph to design and implement a general-purpose 3D visualization system that is simulation and CAD-software independent. This system, the Dynamic Construction Visualizer, enables realistic visualization of modeled construction operations and the resulting products and can be used in conjunction with a wide variety of simulation tools. This paper describes the scene graph architecture and the frame updating algorithms used in designing the Dynamic Construction Visualizer.     

Classifying rehabilitation inpatients by expected functional gain

OBJECTIVES: To create a more suitable payment system for medical rehabilitation, the authors developed a companion classification system to the original functional independence measure-function-related groups (FIM-FRGs), which classify patients having similar lengths of stay in a rehabilitation hospital or inpatient unit. The companion system presented here groups patients according to their gains in functional status during the rehabilitation stay. METHODS: Data from 84,492 patients discharged from 252 rehabilitation facilities in 1992 were provided by the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation. Classification rules were formed using clinical judgment and a recursive partitioning algorithm. The gain-FRGs system used four predictor variables: (1) diagnosis leading to disability, admission scores on the (2) motor and (3) cognitive subscales of the FIM, and (4) patient age. RESULTS: The gain-FRGs system contained 74 patient groups and explained 21% of the variation in functional gain for patients in a different set of records withheld for validation. CONCLUSIONS: The gain-FRGs system should be considered for prospective payment systems because it gives the provider an incentive to improve patient outcomes, which is missing in a payment system based on FIM-FRGs alone.     

Isolation of a novel Helicobacter species, Helicobacter cholecystus sp. nov., from the gallbladders of Syrian hamsters with cholangiofibrosis and centrilobular pancreatitis

A filamentous, gram-negative, motile bacterium with a single polar sheathed flagellum was isolated from gallbladders of hamsters with cholangiofibrosis and centrilobular pancreatitis. Bacteria grew under microaerophilic conditions at 37 and 42 degrees C, were oxidase, catalase, arginine aminopeptidase, and L-arginine arylamidase positive, reduced nitrate to nitrite, were resistant to cephalothin, and exhibited intermediate susceptibility to nalidixic acid. Sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA gene indicated that the bacterium was a novel member of the Helicobacter genus, most closely related to Helicobacter pametensis. We propose to name this bacterium Helicobacter cholecystus. In epidemiologic studies, isolation of H. cholecystus correlated strongly with the presence of cholangiofibrosis and centrilobular pancreatitis; however, further studies are needed to define the role of this bacterium in pathogenesis.     

Tumor cell cytotoxicity of a novel metal chelator

We have synthesized a novel six-coordinate metal chelator from the triamine cis-1,3,5-triaminocyclohexane by the addition of a 2-pyridylmethyl pendant arm on each nitrogen, which we term tachpyr. The experiments described here were designed to explore whether this compound exhibits potential antitumor activity. When added to MBT2 or T24 cultured bladder cancer cells, tachpyr was profoundly cytotoxic, with an IC50 of approximately 4.6 micromol/L compared with 70 micromol/L for desferioxamine. To explore the mode of action of tachpyr, several metal complexes were prepared, including Fe(II), Ca(II), Mn(II), Mg(II), Cu(II), and Zn(II) tachpyr complexes. Of these, the Zn(II), Cu(II), and Fe(II) complexes were without toxic effect, whereas the Ca(II), Mn(II), and Mg(II) complexes remained cytotoxic. To further probe the role of Zn(II) and Cu(II) chelation in the cytotoxicity of tachpyr, sterically hindered tachpyr derivatives were prepared through N-alkylation of tachpyr. These derivatives were unable to strongly bind Fe(III) or Fe(II) but were able to bind Zn(II) and Cu(II). When added to cells, these sterically hindered tachpyr derivatives were nontoxic, consistent with a role of iron depletion in the cytotoxic mechanism of tachpyr. Further, the addition of tachpyr to proliferating cultures resulted in an early and selective inhibition of ferritin synthesis, an iron storage protein whose translation is critically dependent on intracellular iron pools. Taken together, these experiments suggest that tachpyr is a cytotoxic metal chelator that targets intracellular iron, and that the use of tachpyr in cancer therapy deserves further exploration.