Microbiologic study of organ-cultured donor corneas

When initiating monotherapy for the treatment of essential hypertension, multiple determinants factor into the decision. The goal of treatment is to lower blood pressure and lessen the likelihood of progression to target organ failure. Physicians frequently prioritize these determinants and make decisions to initiate monotherapy based on the race of an individual. All too often, however, the black/white issue is overstated and given too much consideration. The overall goal of this review is to suggest the appropriate "role" for racial profiling in the initial selection of an antihypertensive agent.     

Mind/body dualism in medicine: The case of chronic pelvic pain without organic pathology: a critical review of the literature

Chronic pelvic pain in the absence of organic pathology identifiable in medical terms is considered one of the most perplexing conditions that gynecologists confront. A critical analysis of the medical, psychiatric, and psychological literature on chronic pelvic pain without organic pathology reveals that the dichotomous construct of mind and body underpinning medical research and understanding is a barrier to the successful diagnosis and treatment of this condition, and indeed to the productive engagement of the health professional with the patient. The strict duality of the condition's etiology being understood in either physiological or psychogenic terms has been questioned at times over the last 40 years, but only recently has an "integrative model" been proposed. However, it is argued here that although the development of a multidisciplinary approach is important, only a radical deconstruction of the medical paradigm will truly address the problem and enable a real change in practice.     

Augmentation of facial soft-tissue defects with Alloderm dermal graft

The aim of the study was TPS diagnostic value determination in the serum of women with breast cancer as compared with MCA and CA 15-3. The relationship between the serum concentration of these antigens and patient age, clinical stage, histological grade, presence of metastases to lymph nodes and histological type of neoplasm was evaluated. Studies were conducted on the sera of 139 women before surgical procedure aged 28-81, treated in the Clinic of Oncology, at Karol Marcinkowski University of Medical Sciences in Poznań. The TPS concentration was determined using the "BEKI Diagnostics" immunoenzymatic method, MCA - by the "Roche" test and CA 15-3 concentration was determined by the "Abbott" immunofluorescent test. The study showed significantly higher levels of TPS, CA 15-3 and MCA in women with cancer, compared with values in healthy women and women with mastopathy. The highest median of concentration and frequency of occurrence was obtained for TPS. A correlation between enhancement of TPS and CA 15-3 concentration with clinical stage was observed. A similar connection was noted in women with metastases to the lymph nodes. Serum MCA concentration results did not demonstrate the above effects. The study suggests, that in estimating the clinical condition of women with breast cancer, the simultaneous determination of TPS with CA 15-3 seems to be a more useful prognostic factor than TPS or CA 15-3 with MCA.     

Microcirculatory bed of the rat ovary in health and under laser irradiation

Personal clinical observations during the recent years allow the authors to confirm the indisputable value of surgical experience got during the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) and in particular, the "fourfold" scheme proposed by V. I. Voiachek for the diagnosis and treatment of blind gunshot wounds to the skull base. Computed tomography considerably increases the probability of detection of the exact localization of foreign bodies in complex anatomical structures of the skull and thus facilitates choosing the most rational surgical management. The use of the electro-optical transducer for the extraction of foreign bodies from almost inaccessible areas of the skull base decreases the risk of operation.     

Ultrarapid metabolizers of debrisoquine: characterization and PCR-based detection of alleles with duplication of the CYP2D6 gene

During a six-month period 2,221 haemocultures obtained from patients hospitalized in the Faculty Hospital Olomouc were examined. In all 304 isolated bacteria the sensitivity was assessed by the standard dilution micromethod and moreover all positive haemocultures were examined the "direct" disc method. Agreement between the results of the two methods was proved in 84% of pairs of tests and within a range from 67 to 100%, depending on the type of antimicrobial preparation. Based on these findings it may be stated that assessment of the sensitivity by the "direct" method agrees significantly with assessment of the sensitivity according to minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC). In patients with septicaemia this procedure makes it possible to change empirical antibiotherapy by 24 hours sooner to aimed therapy.     

The lactulose breath hydrogen test and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth

OBJECTIVES: To i) document the sensitivity and specificity of a combined scintigraphic/lactulose breath hydrogen test for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth and ii) investigate the validity of currently accepted definitions of an abnormal lactulose breath hydrogen test based on "double peaks" in breath hydrogen concentrations. METHODS: Twenty-eight subjects were investigated with culture of proximal small intestinal aspirate and a 10-g lactulose breath hydrogen test combined with scintigraphy. Gastroduodenal pH, the presence or absence of gastric bacterial overgrowth, and the in vitro capability of overgrowth flora to ferment lactulose were determined. RESULTS: Sensitivity (16.7%) and specificity (70.0%) of the lactulose breath hydrogen test alone for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth were poor. Combination with scintigraphy resulted in 100% specificity, because double peaks in serial breath hydrogen concentrations may occur as a result of lactulose fermentation by cecal bacteria. Sensitivity increased to 38.9% with scintigraphy, because a single rise in breath hydrogen concentrations, commencing before the test meal reaches the cecum, may occur in this disorder. Sensitivity remained suboptimal irrespective of the definition of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth used, the nature of the overgrowth flora, favorable luminal pH, the presence of concurrent gastric bacterial overgrowth, or the in vitro ability of the overgrowth flora to ferment lactulose. CONCLUSIONS: Definitions of an abnormal lactulose breath hydrogen test based on the occurrence of double peaks in breath hydrogen concentrations are inappropriate. Not even the addition of scintigraphy renders this test a clinically useful alternative to culture of aspirate for diagnosing small intestinal bacterial overgrowth.     

Fungal products. Part XVII. Microbiological hydroxylation of gibberellin A9 and its methyl ester

Angiotensin II (A II) and analogues were tested for their ability to restore electrical and mechanical activity to cardiac muscle preparations in which the fast Na+ channels had been inactivated by partial depolarization (22-27 mM K+) or by tetrodotoxin (TTX). The partially depolarized or TTX-blocked preparations were chosen because under these conditions electrical and mechanical responses are primarily Ca2+ -dependent. In depolarized rabbit right atria, A II restored spontaneous mechanical and electrical activity (measured by both intracellular and extracellular recording techniques). The frequency of action potential discharge was concentration-dependent; the threshold concentration of A II was 10(-10) M, the ED50 was 8 X 10(-9) M, and the maximum effect was observed at 5 X 10(-8) M. In contrast, depolarized guinea pig atria were insensitive to A II, Sar1-angiotensin II, and des-Asp1-angiotensin II, even at concentrations as high as 10(-5) M. Rabbit papillary muscle (TTX-blocked), embryonic (18-day) chick heart (partially depolarized) and chick heart reaggregates (TTX-blocked) responded similarly to rabbit atria in that A II (9.6 X 10(-7) M) restored both electrical and mechanical activity. We found that in these preparations the action of A II was unaffected by propranolol (5.0 X 10(-6) M to 5.0 X 10(-5) M) but was blocked by Mn2+ (10(-3) M), D-600 (1 X 10(-7) g/ml) and the specific A II antagonists Sar1-Ala8-angiotensin II (P-113) (5.0 X 10(-5) M) and Sar1-Ile8-angiotensin II (5.28 X 10(-5) M). We conclude that the positive inotropic effect of A II on the myocardium is due to its ability to increase transmembrane ion movements in or through the cell membrane. The ability of Mn2+ and D-600 to block this effect suggests that this ion movement is via the so-called "slow channels."     

Overload, autonomy, and burnout as predictors of physicians' quality of care.

A model in which perceived overload and burnout mediated the relations of workload and autonomy with physicians' quality of care to their patients was examined. The study was based on data from 890 specialists representing six medical specialties. Including global burnout as well as its three first-order facets of physical fatigue, cognitive weariness, and emotional exhaustion improved the fit between the structural model and the data relative to an alternative model that included only global burnout. Workload (number of work hours) indirectly predicted quality of care through perceived overload. Additionally, the authors found that the paths from the first order factors of emotional exhaustion, physical fatigue, and cognitive weariness predicted quality of care negatively, positively, and nonsignificantly, respectively. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Repeated dosing with the peroxisome proliferator clofibrate decreases the toxicity of model hepatotoxic agents in male mice

Pretreatment of mice with clofibrate (CFB) has been shown to protect against acetaminophen (APAP) hepatotoxicity. To determine if pretreatment with CFB prevents the toxicity of other model hepatotoxicants, male C57BL6J or CD-1 mice received 500 mg CFB/kg, i.p., daily for 10 days, and then were challenged with either 250 mg bromobenzene (BrB)/kg, 0.025 ml carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)/kg or 0.5 ml chloroform (CHCl3)/kg. Liver and kidney injury was assessed by plasma sorbitol dehydrogenase activity (SDH) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN), respectively and histopathology. Challenge with BrB significantly elevated plasma SDH activity in C57Bl6J mice. This was prevented in CFB pretreated mice receiving the same dose of BrB. Changes in BUN were not detected in either group of BrB treated mice. Similarly, pretreatment of male CD-1 mice with CFB significantly reduced CCl4-induced elevation in plasma SDH activity, with no BUN elevation detected in either group. CFB pretreatment also diminished elevation in plasma SDH activity produced by CHCl3 in CD-1 mice, while BUN was significantly elevated in both groups, indicating that CFB did not protect against CHCl3-induced nephrotoxicity. Histopathological examination of liver and kidney sections confirmed these results. This study shows that mice pretreated with CFB were protected from toxicity at 24 h after challenge with other model hepatotoxic agents besides APAP.     

Cryopreservation and culture of human corneal keratocytes

PURPOSE: To assess the effects of two different concentrations of albumin in a cryoprotective solution and two freezing methods on human corneal keratocyte ctyopreservation. METHODS: Isolated keratocytes were used for cryopreservation. Solutions of 10% dimethylsulfoxide with either 2% or 10% human albumin were used as cryoprotective agents. Cells either were transferred directly into a -80 degrees C freezer (freezing rate, 2 degrees C/min) or were cooled in a programmed freezer (1 degrees C/min until -40 degrees C and then 10 degrees C/min), which resulted in four different cryopreservation protocols. Cells were stored at -80 degrees C, then were thawed at 37 degrees C, and subsequently were cultured. Keratocytes were studied by means of trypan blue staining, growth assay, apoptosis assays, transmission electron microscopy, and immunochemistry. RESULTS: The percentage of cells that were alive after thawing ranged from 80% to 99% by trypan blue staining and from 45% to 60% by flow cytometry. The ratio of the number of living cells at the end of primary culture after cryopreservation to that before cryopreservation was significantly (P=0.04) higher after direct transfer into the -80 degrees C freezer than after controlled-rate freezing, whereas the albumin concentration had no significant influence on this ratio (P=0.45). The percentage of apoptotic cells was significantly higher after cryopreservation than in the control group of noncryopreserved cells; more than 5% 24 hours after thawing. Cryopreservation did not modify the keratocyte ultrastructure. Fibroblast growth factor dramatically decreased the serum-induced cell expression of alpha smooth muscle actin, whereas cryopreservation had no influence on this cell expression. CONCLUSIONS: A freeze-thaw trauma, which was related to cryopreservation-induced cell apoptosis, was revealed during primary culture after thawing. Direct transfer into the -80 degrees C freezer resulted in better postcryopreservation growth in the culture than controlled-rate freezing. A change in albumin concentration from 2% to 10% did not affect the results.