Usefulness and limitations of thyrotropin measurements as a first-line test for follow-up of Graves'' patients

Although the good appearance and biocompatibility of dental porcelains, failures are still of considerable concern because of the limited properties to all ceramic system. Physical properties that might be considered ideal include high strength, resistance to abrasion, and resistance to the hostile oral environment. Porcelain has been considered by many of its physical characteristic are similar to those of enamel. In 1983 a new modality of treatment, the etched porcelain restoration was introduced by Simonsen and Calamia. Numerous investigations have shown the strength of the etched porcelain bonded to composite resin and also the clinical success of this porcelain to be used as laminated veneers and etched inlays and onlays.     

Increased oxidative damage is correlated to altered mitochondrial function in heterozygous manganese superoxide dismutase knockout mice

This study characterizes mitochondria isolated from livers of Sod2(-/+) and Sod2(+/+) mice. A 50% decrease in manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) activity was observed in mitochondria isolated from Sod2(-/+) mice compared with Sod2(+/+) mice, with no change in the activities of either glutathione peroxidase or copper/zinc superoxide dismutase. However, the level of total glutathione was 30% less in liver mitochondria of the Sod2(-/+) mice. The reduction in MnSOD activity in Sod2(-/+) mice was correlated to an increase in oxidative damage to mitochondria: decreased activities of the Fe-S proteins (aconitase and NADH oxidoreductase), increased carbonyl groups in proteins, and increased levels of 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine in mitochondrial DNA. In contrast, there were no significant changes in oxidative damage in the cytosolic proteins or nuclear DNA. The increase in oxidative damage in mitochondria was correlated to altered mitochondrial function. A significant decrease in the respiratory control ratio was observed in mitochondria isolated from Sod2(-/+) mice compared with Sod2(+/+) mice for substrates metabolized by complexes I, II, and III. In addition, mitochondria isolated from Sod2(-/+) mice showed an increased rate of induction of the permeability transition. Therefore, this study provides direct evidence correlating reduced MnSOD activity in vivo to increased oxidative damage in mitochondria and alterations in mitochondrial function.     

Effects of granisetron with doxorubicin or epirubicin on ECG intervals

Commercially available serotonin-type 3 (5-HT3) receptor antagonists (ondansetron, granisetron, and tropisetron) have shown no clinically significant adverse effects on the cardiovascular system. In the dose-ranging evaluation of dolasetron, computer-generated ECGs revealed clinically asymptomatic prolongations of ECG intervals. We performed a clinical trial in which the possible changes in ECG intervals following a single 3-mg i.v. injection of granisetron and an injection of either doxorubicin or epirubicin were registered using computerized ECG analysis in cancer patients. A total of 30 patients who were designated to receive 3 mg granisetron i.v. for the prophylaxis of emesis induced by doxorubicin or epirubicin were entered into the study. Computer-generated ECG tracings were obtained before treatment, following the injection of 3mg granisetron, and immediately after doxorubicin or epirubicin injection. The mean PR interval duration increased from 160 to 166 ms after granisetron infusion (P=0.02). Doxorubicin and epirubicin did not potentiate this change. There was no statistically significant change in cardiac rhythm, QRS duration, or QTc intervals. The observed minor changes in the PR time following i.v. injection of granisetron do not seem to be of clinical relevance.     

四川电信为工业园区铺上"信息柏油路"

1月25日,我省实施工业强省战略企业负责人会议上,传递出一个明确的信号：全面贯彻“坚持科学发展、构建和谐四川”的一项重要任务,就是“推进工业大省向工业强省跨越”。“强省”、“跨越”,意味着“十一五”期间,工业要毫不犹豫地承担起支撑发展的重任,未来的四川工业,要在国内外市场提升地位和影响力!     

Regulated endocytosis of G-protein-coupled receptors by a biochemically and functionally distinct subpopulation of clathrin-coated pits

beta-2 Adrenergic receptors (B2ARs) are endocytosed by clathrin-coated pits. This process serves specialized functions in signal transduction and receptor regulation, raising the question of whether B2ARs are associated with biochemically specialized membrane vesicles during their endocytic trafficking. Here we show that B2ARs are endocytosed by a distinct subpopulation of clathrin-coated pits, which represent a limited subset of coated pits present in the plasma membrane, even in cells overexpressing both B2ARs and beta-arrestin. Coated pits mediating agonist-induced endocytosis of B2ARs differ from other coated pits mediating constitutive endocytosis of transferrin receptors in their temperature dependence for fission from the plasma membrane and in the association of their membrane coats with beta-arrestin. Endocytosis of these coated pits generates endocytic vesicles selectively enriched in B2ARs, which fuse within approximately 10 min after their formation with a common population of endosomes containing both B2ARs and transferrin receptors. These observations demonstrate, for the first time, the existence of a functionally and biochemically distinct subpopulation of clathrin-coated pits that mediate the agonist-regulated endocytosis of G-protein-coupled receptors, and they suggest a new model for the formation of compositionally specialized membrane vesicles at the earliest stage of the endocytic pathway.     

Quantitation of bacteria in blood of typhoid fever patients and relationship between counts and clinical features, transmissibility, and antibiotic resistance

Salmonella typhi was isolated from 369 and Salmonella paratyphi A was isolated from 6 of 515 Vietnamese patients with suspected enteric fever. Compared with conventional broth culture of blood, direct plating of the buffy coat had a diagnostic sensitivity of 99.5% (95% confidence interval [CI], 97.1 to 100%). Blood bacterial counts were estimated by the pour plate method. The median S. typhi count in blood was 1 CFU/ml (range, <0.3 to 387 CFU/ml), of which a mean of 63% (95% CI, 58 to 67%) were intracellular. The mean number of bacteria per infected leukocyte was 1.3 (interquartile range [IQR], 0.7 to 2.4) CFU/cell (n = 81). Children (< 15 years old; n = 115) had higher median blood bacterial counts than adults (n = 262): 1.5 (range, <0.3 to 387) versus 0.6 (range, <0.3 to 17.7) CFU/ml (P = 0.008), and patients who excreted S. typhi in feces had higher bacteremias than those who did not: a median of 3 (range, <0.3 to 32) versus 1 (range, <0.3 to 68) CFU/ml (P = 0.02). Blood bacterial counts declined with increasing duration of illness (P = 0.002) and were higher in infections caused by multidrug-resistant S. typhi (1.3 [range, <0.3 to 387] CFU/ml; n = 313) than in infections caused by antibiotic-sensitive S. typhi (0.5 [range, <0.3 to 32] CFU/ml; n = 62) (P = 0.006). In a multivariate analysis this proved to be an independent association, suggesting a relationship between antibiotic resistance and virulence in S. typhi.