Giardiasis. Issues in diagnosis and management

Giardia lamblia is a frequent cause of diarrhea throughout the United States and the world. Advances in basic biology indicate that different strains of Giardia exist, that mammals can be infected with G. lamblia-type organisms, and that secretory IgA is important to host protection. Although water remains the most common mode of transmission of Giardia, there has been an increase in the number of person-to-person cases, especially related to children in day care, as well as an increase in food-borne cases. New antigen detection assays have improved the ability to diagnose Giardia in the stool and make it unlikely that duodenal sampling will be necessary. Metronidazole has become the drug of choice for most cases of giardiasis because of its efficacy, favorable tolerance, and availability. For pregnant women who require treatment, a non-absorbable aminoglycoside, paromomycin, may be tried first and metronidazole used if initial treatment fails.     

Affiliation motivation: People who need people… but in different ways.

The Interpersonal Orientation Scale was developed to focus on four dimensions assumed to underlie affiliation motivation: social comparison, emotional support, positive stimulation, and attention. Factor analyses basically supported the proposed multidimensional construct. Evidence for the validity of the four dimensions was provided by their correlations with measures of constructs conceptually related to affiliation motivation and their lack of correlation with measures conceptually unrelated to affiliation motivation. Moreover, in a laboratory study, each motivational subscale tended to correlate most highly with role-played responses in a situation affording the relevant incentive type. Future research on social motivation and interaction will profit from identifying the particular incentives that are salient in a given setting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stress fracture of the sternum: an unusual injury?

Stress fracture of the sternum is a rare condition which presents as acute anterior chest pain after repetitive upper-body exercise. Two case reports are presented and it is postulated that this is an often underdiagnosed condition which should be considered in the differential diagnosis of acute chest pain in the athlete. Awareness of the injury together with meticulous clinical examination supported by good quality radiographs or isotope bone scan may lead to an increase in the diagnosis of this injury.     

Currents induced on multiconductor transmission lines by radiationand injection

Multiconductor transmission line theory is used to compare current induced on individual wires within a bundle by injection and radiated excitation. Calculations show that the two types of excitation generally induce significantly different current distributions, but the differences are much smaller for electrically short lines. The results are relevant to the validity of using current injection testing to replace radiated immunity testing     

Experience with the antibiotic resistance analysis and DNA fingerprinting in tracking faecal pollution at two lake beaches.

Posting or closing of swimming beaches because of faecal contamination is a widespread problem reported in many locations. In a risk-based approach to this problem, the risk to swimmers' health is assessed by field monitoring of indicator bacteria and the associated risks are managed by source controls and other remedial measures. In risk assessment, great advances have been made in recent years with the introduction of microbial source tracking (MST) techniques. Two such techniques, antibiotic resistance analysis and DNA fingerprinting, were applied in a study of causes of faecal contamination at two lake beaches in Toronto, Ontario. Both methods identified bird faeces as the dominant sources of E. coli. Coping with this type of pollution presents a major environmental challenge.     

Fibroblast growth factor-2 and fibroblast growth factor receptor-1 mRNA expression and peptide localization in placentae from normal and diabetic pregnancies

Soils developed on serpentine rocks cover a large area in Albania which contains large reserves of iron, nickel, chromium and copper and is characterised by a high density of mines and metal smelters. This work was conducted to study the flora associated with serpentine and former industrial and mining sites in Albania. Eight sites were investigated in the south-eastern, central and northern parts of the country. Soils were sampled in the Ap horizon and plants were collected and identified. Plant material was allowed to dry before being ground. Soil and plant samples were analysed for total Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mg, Ni, Pb and Zn. Results showed that each site exhibited a high concentration of one or more metals. The maximum concentrations of metals in soils dry matter (DM) were 14 mg Cd kg-1, 476 mg Co kg-1, 3865 mg Cr kg-1, 1107 mg Cu kg-1, 3579 mg Ni kg-1, 172 mg Pb kg-1 and 2495 mg Zn kg-1. The Mg/Ca ratio in serpentine soils varied from 1 to 7.8. A collection of 58 plant species, members of 44 genera and 17 families, were collected. Alyssum markgrafii in the north and Alyssum murale in the south-eastern serpentines had a concentration of 1.26 and 0.85% Ni in DM, respectively. In the species Herniaria hirsuta, a serpentine plant, concentrations of 808 mg Ni kg-1 and 275 mg Cr kg-1 in DM were recorded. Other taxa (Filago, Inula, Picris, Galamintha, Marrubium, Teucrium, Lotus, Ononis and Xeranthemum) from serpentines had a high, but not exceptional Ni content. Some species collected on serpentines and industrial sites presented rather high concentrations of lead or copper in their above-ground parts, probably related to contamination by soil dust.     

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency and malaria

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) is a cytoplasmic enzyme that is essential for a cell's capacity to withstand oxidant stress. G6PD deficiency is the commonest enzymopathy of humans, affecting over 400 million persons worldwide. The geographical correlation of its distribution with the historical endemicity of malaria suggests that 66PD deficiency has risen in frequency through natural selection by malaria. This is supported by data from in vitro studies that demonstrate impaired growth of P. falciparum parasites in G6PD-deficient erythrocytes. Attempts to confirm that G6PD deficiency is protective in field studies of malaria have yielded conflicting results, but recent results from large case control studies conducted in East and West Africa provide strong evidence that the most common African G6PD deficiency variant, G6PD A-, is associated with a significant reduction in the risk of severe malaria for both G6PD female heterozygotes and male hemizygotes. The effect of female homozygotes on severe malaria remains unclear but can probably be assumed to be similar to that of comparably deficient male hemizygotes.     

Influence of receptor number on the stimulation by salmeterol of gene transcription in CHO-K1 cells transfected with the human beta2-adrenoceptor

We investigated the behavior of the antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APx), in potato tubers during storage at low temperature. SOD activity increased temporarily within 3 weeks and was higher at 1 degree C than at 20 degrees C. APx activity also increased more at low (1 degree C) than at higher temperatures (5 and 20 degrees C). The contents of ascorbic acid (AsA), which is the substrate of APx, decreased immediately within 3 weeks and then gradually decreased until 15 weeks. The activity of CAT, the other enzyme which can scavenge hydrogen peroxide, decreased once in the first six weeks and thereafter increased to 15 weeks. Thus, the enhancement of the active oxygen-scavenging system that was induced by low temperature in potato tubers could result not only in a decrease of AsA but also in combined increases in APx and CAT activity whose manners were different.