Plague that never was: a review of the alleged plague outbreaks in India in 1994

Judging by WHO criteria, there was not a single case in India in 1994 that could be taken as a confirmed case of plague. Both clinical and epidemiological features of the illness alleged to be plague were not at all compatible with those of plague-both bubonic and pneumonic types. The bacteriologic and serological evidence was limited to a few cases, and doubtful. PCR is a highly sensitive test, but the specificity of PCR for plague was not verified under field conditions in India. Just by the demonstration of the presence of a causative organism in the environment or in the body tissue, one cannot substantiate occurrence of an infection or disease in man. In view of the assessment and review presented in this paper, one can conclude that the outbreaks of illness that resembled plague during late 1994 in Beed District and Surat were certainly not due to plague. If the Mamla outbreak had not been declared to be plague, the probability of the Surat illness being labeled as plague was negligible. Whatever happened provides a very important lesson of the harm that can occur nationally and globally from decisions based on inadequate or incorrect information.     

Waldenstr?m''s macroglobulinemia resulting from localized gastric lymphoplasmacytoid lymphoma

Arthritis may be the presenting manifestation of iron overload. The metacarpophalangeal joints are often involved, producing a condition that resembles osteoarthritis but at a site typically affected by rheumatoid arthritis. Treatment of the arthritis is often disappointing, but identification of the underlying disease permits institution of life-saving phlebotomy therapy.     

Synthesis and serotonin receptor affinities of a series of trans-2-(indol-3-yl)cyclopropylamine derivatives

A series of four racemic ring-substituted trans-2-(indol-3-yl)cyclopropylamine derivatives was synthesized and tested for affinity at the 5-HT1A receptor, by competition with [3H]-8-OH-DPAT in rat hippocampal homogenates, and for affinity at the agonist-labeled cloned human 5-HT2A, 5-HT2B, and 5-HT2C receptor subtypes. None of the compounds had high affinity for the 5-HT1A receptor, with the 5-methoxy substitution being most potent (40 nM). At the 5-HT2A and 5-HT2B receptor isoforms, most of the compounds lacked high affinity. At the 5-HT2C receptor, however, affinities were considerably higher. The 5-fluoro-substituted compound was most potent, with a Ki at the 5-HT2C receptor of 1.9 nM. In addition, the 1R,2S-(-) and 1S,2R-(+) enantiomers of the unsubstituted compound were also evaluated at the 5-HT2 isoforms. While the 1R,2S enantiomer had higher affinity at the 5-HT2A and 5-HT2B sites, the 1S,2R isomer had highest affinity at the 5-HT2C receptor. This reversal of stereoselectivity may offer leads to the development of a selective 5-HT2C receptor agonist. The cyclopropylamine moiety therefore appears to be a good strategy for rigidification of the ethylamine side chain only for tryptamines that bind to the 5-HT2C receptor isoform.     

Microsatellite loci for stringless bees

What ethical concerns regarding the application of new antidementia compounds are pertinent to the best interests of patients with Alzheimer's disease and their caregivers? Based on collected preliminary anecdotal accounts, these concerns are important and should be considered carefully by clinicians, researchers, and families.     

Fish as models for the neuroendocrine regulation of reproduction and growth

Models are essential for the full understanding of neuroendocrine control processes. In this regard fish offer a rich source of biological material. They have diverse growth and reproductive strategies, inhabiting most of the Earth's aquatic ecological niches. Fish possess many of the common vertebrate features but also offer several unique aspects to allow the biologist easy access to the study of hypothalamic and pituitary function. Several key examples of how teleosts, or the bony fish, can offer insight into fundamental mechanisms of vertebrate sex differentiation, growth and reproduction are reviewed.     

Efficacy of novel antimicrobials against clinical isolates of opportunistic amebas

Using atomic force microscopy (AFM), we have investigated neutron-induced DNA double-strand breaks in plasmids in aqueous solution. AFM permits direct measurement of individual DNA molecules with an accuracy of a few nanometers. Furthermore, the analysis of the DNA fragment size distribution is non-parametric, whereas other methods are dependent on the model. Neutron irradiation of DNA results in the generation of many short fragments, an observation not made for damage induced by low-LET radiation. These data provide clear experimental evidence for the existence of clustered DNA double-strand breaks and demonstrate that short DNA fragments may be produced by such radiations in the absence of a nucleosomal DNA structure.     

Benign paroxysmal tonic upward gaze syndrome

INTRODUCTION: The benign paroxysmal tonic upward gaze syndrome (BPTUG) is a rare condition. We present two new cases analyzing the clinical, genetic, evolution and therapeutic aspects. CLINICAL CASES: Case 1. A 2 year-old girl with no family history of similar disorders started, at the age of 6 months, to have episodes of upward deviation of gaze with hyperextension of the neck and vertical nystagmus of fixation, increased by nervousness and episodes of fever. Some episodes caused the patient to fall in spite of there being no alteration of consciousness. Case 2. From the age of five months a 1 year-old girl with no significant personal or family history had episodes of ocular deviation upwards with forward inclination of the head to correct her gaze and slow motor development from the age of five months. RESULTS: Complementary studies were normal in both patients. As in the cases described in the literature, our cases had no family history and were not sensitive to Dopa. To date 11 children have been described in the literature and few familial cases seen with dominant autosomal inheritance. CONCLUSIONS: Our patients had a non-epileptic paroxystic phenomenon known as BPTUG syndrome. This condition starts during the first year of life, has a benign course and the episodes have ceased by the age of four years. We believe it is important to consider the differential diagnosis with epileptic phenomena, evaluate the response to L-Dopa and bear in mind that this syndrome may be the clinical expression of several different conditions. Although the course is usually benign, it may later be associated with other signs of neurological problems which should be taken into account.     

Perioperative conduction and rhythm disturbances after the Ross procedure in young patients

BACKGROUND: The Ross procedure is performed for a variety of left ventricular outflow tract diseases in children. The preoperative hemodynamic burden of pressure or volume overload and associated ventricular hypertrophy can predispose to ventricular arrhythmias. Additional procedures performed with the Ross procedure (eg, Konno) may damage the conduction system. METHODS: Between January 1995 and February 1997, the Ross procedure was performed in 42 patients, 31 (74%) of whom had 71 prior interventions. Concomitant procedures (n = 42 in 23 patients) included 17 annular-enlarging procedures. Screening was performed for perioperative conduction and rhythm abnormalities. RESULTS: There was one postoperative death. Perioperative ventricular tachycardia occurred in 12 patients (29%), with 2 receiving antiarrhythmic medication for ventricular tachycardia at discharge. Transient complete heart block occurred in 3 patients, all of whom had concomitant procedures performed in the subaortic area; all patients were discharged in sinus rhythm and no patient received a permanent pacemaker. CONCLUSIONS: The Ross procedure can be performed successfully in children with complex cardiac disease with low mortality and perioperative morbidity. The incidence of perioperative ventricular tachycardia is high (29%), suggesting the need for vigilant perioperative monitoring and long-term surveillance.     

Qualitative und quantitative Aminos?urebestimmungen an einigen wichtigen Speisepilzen

Zusammenfassung Es wird eine geeignete Extraktionsmethode zur Isolierung des Pilzeiweißes sowie seine Abtrennung von den Zuckern und Mineralstoffen beschrieben. Ein kombiniertes Hydrolyseverfahren erlaubt es, die einzelnen Aminosäuren möglichst verlustfrei in Lösung zu bekommen. Der qualitative Nachweis der Aminosäuren erfolgte mit Hilfe der zweidimensionalen Papierchromatographie. Zur quantitativen Bestimmung dient die eindimensionale Chromatographie auf gepuffertem Papier, wobei zur Ermittlung der Farbintensitäten in jedem Versuch eine Aminosäuremischung bekannter Zusammensetzung mitläuft. Bei der Mehrzahl der Aminosauren wird die Intensität der Ninhydrinfärbung nach dem Ablösen vom Papier im Pulfrich-Photometer gemessen. Besondere Farbreaktionen werden zur Bestimmung des Tryptophans, Prolins, Histidins und Cystins herangezogen.Anhand des beschriebenen Extraktionsverfahrens wird das wahre Eiweiß in den untersuchten Pilzen bestimmt. Hierbei werden wesentlich niedrigere Werte gefunden, als sonst in der Literatur angegeben werden. Die Eiweißverluste beim Trocknen und Lagern bewegen sich in mäßigen Grenzen. Qualitativ werden alle wichtigen Aminosäuren im Pilzeiweiß gefunden. Die quantitative Verteilung der Aminosäuren ist innerhalb der einzelnen Pilzarten oft recht unterschiedlich. Hingegen kann bei ein und derselben Pilzsorte kein großer Unterschied in der quantitativen Zusammensetzung des Eiweilßes der jungen oiler alten Pilze gefunden werden.Das Eiweiß der eiweißreichsten Pilze (Champignon, Steinpilz) steht in seinem biologischen Wert zwischen pflanzlichem and tierischem Eiweiß. Alle Speisepilze sind im Vergleich zum Weizen- und Erbseneiweiß arm an Isoleucin und mit Ausnahme des Steinpilzes auch arm an Methionin.Auszug aus der Dissertation vonHugo Schuster: Qualitative and quantitative Aminosäurebestimmung der wiehtigsten Speisepilze . Univ. Würzburg 1956.     

Fiber scaffolds of polysialic acid via electrospinning for peripheral nerve regeneration

Fiber scaffolds of bioactive polysialic acid have been prepared via electrospinning for peripheral nerve regeneration. The diameter, morphology and alignment of fibers in scaffolds were adjusted by variation of electrospinning parameters, which are decisive for the cell-scaffold interaction. Due to the high water solubility of polysialic acid (poly-α-2,8-N-acetylneuraminic acid) a photoactive derivative (poly-α-2,8-N-pentenoylneuraminic acid) was used to obtain stable fiber scaffolds in water by photochemical crosslinking. At the optimized fiber scaffolds good cell viability and directed cell proliferation along the fibers was achieved by cell tests with immortalized Schwann cells.