Antitubercular activity of lomefloxacin in an experiment

The effect of lomefloxacin was studied on mice with experimental infection due to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The antibiotic was administered in doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg. It was shown that the use of lomefloxacin for a month provided a lower death rate of the animals with progressing acute generalized tuberculosis, a lower level of the lesions in the internal organs and a lower number of the Mycobacterium isolates from them. The efficacy of the treatment depended on the drug dose. When lomefloxacin was used in a dose of 200 mg/kg, the survival rate was much higher and the number of the epithelial unicellular granulomas in the tissue of the lung and spleen was markedly decreased while with the lower dose the indices did not differ from those in the control.     

Preparation and characterization of chitosan‐based dispersions

Complexation of chitosan in aqueous solutions by low molecular weight electrolytes is one of the simplest methods for the preparation of aqueous chitosan dispersions. In this work, the influence of storage time, sulfate concentration, method of preparation and surfactant content on some properties of the resultant chitosan dispersions (turbidity, viscosity and zeta potential) was analyzed. Turbidimetry was adequate to monitor the formation of particles, while viscometry was suitable to monitor changes in the dispersing phase. An analysis of the properties of these systems, mainly in terms of particle–particle and macromolecule–macromolecule interactions was carried out. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Microstructures formed by spray freezing of food fats

The spray-freezing of two food fats, tripalmitin (PPP) and cocoa butter (CB) and mixtures thereof, has been modeled experimentally using a novel single droplet freezing apparatus configured so that temperature profiles or samples for microstructure analysis can be obtained. For 2 mm diameter droplets suspended in a cold air flow at temperatures around 2–15°C, initial cooling rates were on the order of 10 K s⁻¹ and the temperature profiles could be correlated directly to DSC data collected at 20 K min⁻¹, indicating that minimal supercooling of the materials occurred in the droplet form. Microstructure analysis confirmed that PPP crystallized preferentially in mixtures, and that the surface structure was very sensitive to storage conditions. The bulk structure was much less sensitive, and the internal microstructure of the PPP droplets revealed distinct nucleation sites, which were absent from the CB: These persisted in the mixtures up to 50 wt%. X-ray analysis indicated that the fats crystallized in their more stable forms, namely, β for PPP and Form V/V1 in CB.     

In situ bypass and diabetes

From 1986 through to 1990 a total of 483 in situ bypass procedures were performed in 444 patients. Preoperative risk-factors were equally distributed among diabetic (DM) and non-diabetic (NDM) patients, except for smoking habits (DM:48%, NDM:64%, p = 0.002) and cardiac disease (DM:45%, NDM:29%, p = 0.005). Critical limb-ischaemia was more often present in diabetic than non-diabetic patients (DM:57%, NDM:36%, p = 0.0002). Diabetic patients had a significantly lower distal anastomosis than non-diabetic patients (p = 0.00001). There were no differences among diabetic and non-diabetic patients regarding three years primary and secondary patency (58% and 64% respectively), and regarding major amputations. However, the rate of minor amputations was higher in insulin-dependent compared with non-insulin-dependent diabetics, who in turn had a higher rate than non-diabetics (p < 0.00001). A markedly decreased survival rate was found in diabetics (p < 0.00005). We found the in situ bypass technique very useful in the treatment of critical ischaemia of the lower limb in diabetic patients. The overall results in diabetic patients, whether insulin-dependent or not, were equal to those in non-diabetic patients.     

Clinical evaluation of 0.5% ferric hyaluronate adhesion prevention gel for the reduction of adhesions following peritoneal cavity surgery: open-label pilot study

The objective of this study was to assess the safety and to make a preliminary assessment of the efficacy of 0.5% ferric hyaluronate adhesion prevention gel in reducing adhesions in patients undergoing peritoneal cavity surgery by laparotomy, with a planned 'second-look' laparoscopy. The study was a randomized, open-label, placebo-controlled, parallel-group design in patients desirous of fertility at the Women's and Children's Hospital, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Southern California School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California. Female patients aged 24 to 41 years received 300 ml 0.5% ferric hyaluronate adhesion prevention gel or lactated Ringer's solution as an intraperitoneal instillate at the completion of the laparotomy procedure. At second-look laparoscopy 4-12 weeks after the laparotomy, the presence of adhesions was evaluated. Haematology and serum chemistry were determined throughout the study interval. All patients tolerated the procedures well and did not manifest any serious adverse events. At second-look laparoscopy, patients treated with 0.5% ferric hyaluronate adhesion prevention gel had significantly fewer adhesions than control patients. When adhesions did form, they were significantly less extensive and less severe in patients who received 0.5% ferric hyaluronate adhesion prevention gel. In conclusion, 0.5% ferric hyaluronate adhesion prevention gel was safe and highly efficacious in the reduction of the number, severity and extent of adhesions throughout the entire abdomen following peritoneal cavity surgery.     

Detection of anti-HIV-1 IgG antibodies in whole saliva by GACELISA and Western blot assays

The present study, based on 158 HIV seropositives and 167 HIV seronegatives, demonstrates that saliva collected with the Omni-SAL device and tested with GACELISA (an IgG antibody capture ELISA) is an effective non-invasive alternative to serum for anti-HIV IgG antibody screening. The study also shows that a conventional serum Western blot kit can be used, with slight modifications, for confirmatory testing of saliva specimens. Collecting saliva with the Omni-SAL device had a very good acceptance rate among Tanzanian subjects, and although this diagnostic method is not yet known by the general public, 65% of the study participants preferred to give saliva instead of blood for HIV testing.     

A 50-MS/s (35 mW) to 1-kS/s (15 /spl mu/W) power scaleable 10-bit pipelined ADC using rapid power-on opamps and minimal bias current variation

A novel rapid power-on operational amplifier and a current modulation technique are used in a 10-bit 1.5-bit/stage pipelined ADC in 0.18-/spl mu/m CMOS to realize power scalability between 1 kS/s (15 /spl mu/W) and 50 MS/s (35 mW), while maintaining an SNDR of 54-56 dB for all sampling rates. The current modulated power scaling (CMPS) technique is shown to enhance the power scaleable range of current scaling by 50 times, allowing ADC power to be varied by a factor of 2500 while only varying bias currents by a factor of 50. Furthermore, the nominal power is reduced by 20%-30% by completely powering off the rapid power-on opamps during the sampling phase in the pipeline's sample-and-holds.