Dynamics of indicators of blood inorganic phosphorus during gastrointestinal surgery

BACKGROUND: There is a more and more interest regarding methods of obstetric analgesia and anesthesia while there is a lack of epidemiological data about local experiences. METHODS: This survey on obstetric anesthesia and analgesia in Abruzzo and Molise is based on data obtained from questionnaires of 28 questions sent to all the departments of anesthesiology in the two regions. DISCUSSION: Out of 24 questionnaires sent, 18 were returned. By analysing the replies obtained in this investigation it is clearly pointed out how the possibility of having peridural analgesia during labor is often not available. In fact, only one center is able to guarantee an operative service 24 hours a day. Many colleagues have reported this deficit and in order to improve the situation they have proposed to activate chargeable services for labor analgesia and to increase the staff of anesthetists. Also the data concerning treatment of post vaginal delivery pain are not satisfactory. With regard to the Caesarean sections, locoregional anesthesia is performed in 24% of all cases, while the highest scores are registered in the hospitals of Castel di Sangro and L'Aquila, where general anesthesia is practically never employed. Merely in 67% of all patients postoperative analgesia is carried out on a regular basis. CONCLUSIONS: The data obtained only confirm the extent of a well-known problem. In spite of the growing interest by the medical community, the attention shown for obstetric anesthesia and analgesia is, nevertheless, insufficient, especially due to financial and organizational problems which prevent from establishing a permanent pain therapy center.     

The genetic sequelae for plant populations of radioactive environmental pollution in connection with the Chernobyl accident

Populations of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh., and Pinus sylvestris L., growing within 30 km of Chernobyl and Bryansk region have been analyzed for the frequency of embryonic lethal mutations on Arabidopsis and frequency of chlorophyll mutations and chromosome aberrations by pine. On pine also have been analyzed rate of mutations at enzyme loci in endosperms of seeds. Dose dependence of the value genetic damage on level of radioactive pollution was observed.     

Compound heterozygous deletion of the PROP-1 gene in children with combined pituitary hormone deficiency

Mutations in the prophet of Pit-1 gene (PROP1) have been shown to be responsible for combined pituitary hormone deficiency (CPHD) with deficiencies of growth hormone (GH), Prolactin (Prl), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and gonadotropins. We previously reported that homozygosity for a 2bp deletion in exon 2 (296delGA) accounted for CPHD in three patients from two Russian families. Here we report a second mutational hot spot in exon 2. This 2bp 149delGA deletion results in a frame shift that leads to the same serine to stop codon change at codon 109 (S109X). The predicted proteins are each truncated at residue 108 but diverge from the wild type sequence at different points in the homeodomain. Compound heterozygosity for the two mutations (149delGA/296delGA) was detected in 5 of 14 CPHD children from 4 families (36%). This provides the first evidence of heterozygosity for two common deletions as a cause of CPHD in Russian children.     

Rheumatic fever (rheumatism) in the XX century

This article describes a method that uses sampling by diffusion dosimetry to determine mean shift concentrations of methylmethacrylate in the air of workplace. Silochrome S-80 with PMS-100 liquid phase worked as an adsorbent of methylmethacrylate vapors. Thermodesorption or elution with subsequent gas chromatography were used for extraction of the chemical from the adsorbent. The method successfully passed occupational trials in evaluation of air pollution with methylmethacrylate.     

Optimization of collimation system parameters of radioisotope tomograph]

An index of completion of phagocytosis was studied for staphylococcus cultures of various biological activity in experiments with surviving polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Among the coagulase-forming staphylococci virulent strains proved to be nonviable in a lesser percentage of cases than the avirulent ones. Coagulase- and mannite-negative cultures proved to be most unstable. Staphylococcus toxin depressed the migration of polymorphonuclear leukocytes to the focus of irritation, inhibited ingestion of the virulent, and, to a lesser degree, of avirulent coagulase-forming staphylococci, but failed to influence the ingestion of coagulase-negative epidermal staphylococci. The influence of staphylotoxin on the phagocytosis completion index was either the minimal or absent entirely.