Effects of gallstone solvents on commonly used catheters

PURPOSE: To determine what interaction and effect different cholesterol gallstone solvents have on catheters used for gallstone chemolysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Five types of catheters used for biliary procedures were chosen: polyethylene, Percuflex, silicon, Silitek, and polyurethane. The solvents chosen were methyl tert-butyl ether, ethyl propionate, isopropyl acetate, and N-propyl acetate. After incubation of the catheters in the solvents for 72 hours, they were air dried. Weight and area changes were determined for each catheter. Additionally, carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was performed for analysis of composition changes. RESULTS: Three catheters--silicone, Silitek, and polyurethane--showed changes in their physical characteristics that would make them less desirable for stone chemolysis. The silicone catheter showed changes in elastic texture as well as marked weight reduction. The Silitek and polyurethane catheters had similar, but less dramatic changes. C-13 NMR analysis of collected solvents showed that commonly used plasticizers were leached out of some catheters. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that all catheters are not suitable for use with all solvents. The choice of catheter should be made based on the solvent in use. The polyethylene catheter performed best under the conditions and endpoints used in this study.     

Identification of urinary oligosaccharides by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

A new method of urinary oligosaccharides identification by matrix-assisted laser desorption time-of-flight mass spectrometry is presented. The method involves three steps: coupling of the urinary oligosaccharides with 8-aminonaphthalene-1,3,6-trisulfonic acid; fast purification over a porous graphite carbon extraction column; and mass spectrometric analysis. Identification of urinary oligosaccharides is based on the patterns and values of the pseudomolecular ions observed. We report here the patterns in urines from patients with Pompe disease, alpha and beta mannosidoses, galacto-sialidosis, and GM1 gangliosidosis. The protocols described here allowed facile and sensitive identification of the pathognomonic oligosacchariduria present in lysosomal diseases and can be extended to any pathological oligosacchariduria.     

Myelodysplastic syndrome with myelofibrosis and basophilia: detection of trisomy 8 in basophils by fluorescence in-situ hybridization

We report a case of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) with myelofibrosis and pulmonary tuberculosis who had marked basophilia in the peripheral blood. A clonal karyotypic abnormality characterized by trisomy 8 was demonstrated by cytogenetic analysis. By correlation of cell morphology with results of fluorescence in situ hybridization using a chromosome 8 probe, we demonstrated that the basophils were not reactive but belonged to the neoplastic MDS clone.     

Mosquito fauna (Diptera:Culicidae) from Falcon State, Venezuela. I. New records and current checklist

A Markov model was used to assess the cost-benefit ratios of six strategies of screening older drivers for mental status, beginning at age 65. Probabilities of motor vehicle collisions (MVCs), injuries, and fatalities were obtained from national data. Dementia prevalence, test characteristics, and costs were obtained from the literature. Costs included lost wages, car ownership, alternative transportation, and injuries. Using a relative risk of MVC for those with dementia of 5 and a 5% annual discounting rate, the average cost per driver ranged from $51,600 (no testing) to $58,400 (testing every five years). The benefit was < one day of life gained, and the benefits of screening cost approximately 2.8 million dollars per life-year gained. Increasing the relative risk from 5 to 20 substantially improved the cost-benefit of mental status screening. However, mental status screening of older drivers would also be cost-beneficial if physician referral costs were lowered to $60 per evaluation. The authors conclude that a dementia screening program for older drivers would be cost-beneficial if physician evaluations were limited or their cost lowered to < or = $60.     

A comparison of descriptive characteristics of male outpatients and inpatients with affective disorders

Recent studies of patients with affective disorders have found that there are biological differences between inpatients and outpatients. Concerned by these findings, we compared individuals admitted to our inpatient and outpatient affective disorders clinical research center who met criteria for major depression. We hypothesized that inpatients would be more severely ill, more suicidal, more functionally impaired, and have more co-morbid disorders and higher ratings of depression and mood state dysfunction. The demographic profiles, lifetime co-morbid Axis I diagnoses, consumption histories, symptom profiles, global assessment of functioning, and severity of current stressors (Axis IV) were compared and contrasted for the two groups. Inpatients had more severe current psychosocial stressors, lower current levels of functioning, increased lifetime co-morbid Axis I diagnoses, and increased rates of psychiatric hospitalizations, however, they did not have higher depression symptom ratings. In conclusion, inpatients and outpatients differed significantly in the severity of their stressors, coping abilities and history of previous hospitalizations, but not in most demographic variables or their current symptoms of depression.     

Biosynthesis of the unsaturated 14-carbon fatty acids found on the N termini of photoreceptor-specific proteins

In the vertebrate retina, a number of proteins involved in signal transduction are known to be N-terminal acylated with the unusual 14 carbon fatty acids 14:1n-9 and 14:2n-6. We have explored possible pathways for producing these fatty acids in the frog retina by incubation in vitro with candidate precursor fatty acids bearing radiolabels, including [3H]14:0, [3H]18:1n-9, [3H]18:2n-6, and [3H]18:3n-3. Rod outer segments were prepared from the radiolabeled retinas for analysis of protein-linked fatty acids, and total lipids were extracted from the remaining retinal pellet. Following saponification of extracted lipids, fatty acid phenacyl esters were prepared and analyzed by high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) with detection by continuous scintillation counting. Transducin, whose alpha-subunit (Gt alpha) is known to bear N-terminal acyl chains, was extracted from the rod outer segments and subjected to SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and fluorography to detect radiolabeled proteins. Gt alpha was also subjected to methanolysis, and the resulting fatty acyl methyl esters were analyzed by HPLC. The identities of HPLC peaks coinciding with unsaturated species of both phenacyl esters and methyl esters were confirmed by reanalyzing them after catalytic hydrogenation. The results showed that 14:1n-9 can be derived in the retina from 18:1n-9 and 14:2n-6 from 18:2n-6, most likely by two rounds of beta-oxidation, but that neither is produced in detectable amounts from 14:0. Retroconversion of unsaturated 18 carbon fatty acids to the corresponding 14 carbon species showed specificity, in that 18:3n-3 was not converted to 14 carbon fatty acids in detectable amounts. Myristic acid (14:0), 14:1n-9, and 14:2n-6 were all incorporated into Gt alpha. A much less efficient incorporation of 18:1n-9 into Gt alpha was also observed, but no radiolabeling of Gt alpha was observed in retinas incubated with 18:3n-3. Thus, retroconversion by limited beta-oxidation of longer chain unsaturated fatty acids appears to be the most likely metabolic source of the unusual fatty acids found on the N termini of signal transducing proteins in the retina.     

A computer program for the geographic distribution of fluvial mollusks of medical interest in Cuba

The need to know the distribution of mollusks considered to play an important medical role in Cuba through a geographic representation motivated us to develop a software capable of acting as a system for the retrieval of geographic information in which the requested data would be presented in maps. The system has been called DMIM and it is a useful tool for malacological studies, and assessment and planning of programs for the control of intermediate host mollusks, as well as for teaching purposes.     

Identification of novel simple sequence length polymorphisms (SSLPs) in mouse by interspersed repetitive element (IRE)-PCR

Interspersed repetitive element (IRE)-PCR is a useful method for identification of novel human or mouse sequence tagged sites (STSs) from contigs of genomic clones. We describe the use of IRE-PCR with mouse B1 repetitive element primers to generate novel, PCR amplifiable, simple sequence length polymorphisms (SSLPs) from yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) clones containing regions of mouse chromosomes 13 and 14. Forty-two IRE-PCR products were cloned and sequenced from eight YACs. Of these, 29 clones contained multiple simple sequence repeat units. PCR analysis with primers derived from unique sequences flanking the simple sequence repeat units in seven clones showed all to be polymorphic between various mouse strains. This novel approach to SSLP identification represents an efficient method for saturating a genomic interval with polymorphic genetic markers that may expedite the positional cloning of genes for traits and diseases.