Prostate-specific antigen and its complexes with alpha 1-antichymotrypsin in the plasma of patients with prostatic disease

OBJECTIVE: To improve the specificity and sensitivity of the prostate-specific-antigen (PSA) assay for the distinction between prostate cancer and benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH). METHODS: Two sensitive immunoassays, one that measures free PSA and PSA complexed to alpha 1-antichymotrypsin (alpha 1-ACT) with the same efficiency (PSAag assay) and another that specifically measures the complex between PSA and alpha 1-ACT, have been designed to measure the PSA forms in the plasma of 84 patients with prostate disease and in the seminal plasma from 60 healthy individuals. RESULTS: The proportion of plasma PSA in complex with alpha 1-ACT was significantly higher in the 34 patients with prostate cancer (89 +/- 12%, mean +/- SD; median, 91%) than in the 50 patients with BPH (71 +/- 12%; 73%) and did not correlate with the total amount of PSA. Normal seminal plasma (n = 60) had 2.1 +/- 0.6 mg/ml PSA, 175 +/- 62 microns/ml alpha 1-ACT and 9.6 +/- 3.4 micrograms/ml PSA: alpha 1-ACT complex. CONCLUSION: These results confirm that PSA: alpha 1-ACT may be a good marker for a differential diagnosis of carcinoma of the prostate and BPH.     

Lead poisoning from drinking Kombucha tea brewed in a ceramic pot

Kombucha tea is an alternative therapy that is gaining popularity as a remedy for a diverse range of ailments. We report two cases of symptomatic lead poisoning requiring chelation therapy in a married couple who had been drinking Kombucha tea for six months, brewing the tea in a ceramic pot. We postulate that acids in the tea eluted lead from the glaze pigment used in the ceramic pot, in a manner analogous to elution of lead from crystal decanters by wine and spirits.     

Photoluminescent distinction among plant life forms using phosphate buffered saline extract solutions

Photoluminescence of plant extract solutions has been investigated for discrimination of plant life forms (grasses, forbs, and shrubs) using principal component analysis (PCA). Clippings from each of six plant species representing three different plant life forms potentially found in the diets of free-ranging herbivores in the Chihuahuan Desert of North America were investigated for possible discernment. These plants included Sporobolus flexuosus (mesa dropseed, a grass), Pleuraphis mutica (tobosa, a grass), Dimorphocarpa wislizenii (spectacle pod, a forb), Sphaeralcea incana (pale globemallow, a forb), Flourensia cernua leaves (tarbush, a shrub), and Atriplex canescens leaves and stems (fourwing saltbush, a shrub). Emission spectra (370-600 nm) from phosphate buffered saline (PBS) extract solutions (pH 2.2, 7.5 and 12.5) were recorded for each plant with excitation at 365 nm. Use of PBS minimized chlorophyll interference. Discernment among plant life forms within these plant species was achieved.     

Structural build-up of rigid fiber reinforced cement-based materials

The structural build-up of rigid fiber reinforced cement-based materials is studied. It has recently been shown that the behaviour of fiber reinforced concrete depends on the orientation of the fibers that has to be optimized during casting. As a result, there is a great interest to study the rheology of fiber reinforced concrete. One of the most important characteristics of modern fresh concretes is the structural build-up which is involved in many recent issues of concrete casting. This characteristic depends on the cement pastes chemical activity. This present work shows that structural build-up modelling used for common concretes can be generalized to fiber reinforced concretes. It can be shown that, if the inclusions percolation threshold is not reached, the structural build-up rate A _thix is amplified by the addition of fibers and aggregates. Finally, this amplification of the structuration is estimated using modelling initially developed for spherical inclusions and aggregates.     

Transport of phenolic compounds from leaf surface of creosotebush and tarbush to soil surface by precipitation

During the last 100 years, many desert grasslands have been replaced by shrublands. One possible mechanism by which shrubs outcompete grasses is through the release of compounds that interfere with neighboring plants. Our objective was to examine the movement of secondary compounds from the leaf surface of creosotebush and tarbush to surrounding soil surfaces via precipitation. Units consisting of a funnel and bottle were used to collect stemflow, throughfall, and interspace precipitation samples from 20 creosotebush (two morphotypes) and 10 tarbush plants during three summer rainfall events in 1998. Precipitation samples were analyzed for total phenolics (both species) and nordihydroguaiaretic acid (creosotebush only). Phenolics were detected in throughfall and stemflow of both species with stemflow containing greater concentrations than throughfall (0.088 and 0.086 mg/ml for stemflow and 0.022 and 0.014 mg/ml for throughfall in creosotebush morphotypes U and V, respectively; 0.044 and 0.006 mg/ml for tarbush stemflow and throughfall, respectively). Nordihydroguaiaretic acid was not found in any precipitation collections. The results show that phenolic compounds produced by creosotebush and tarbush can be transported to the soil surface by precipitation, but whether concentrations are ecologically significant is uncertain. Nordihydroguaiaretic acid was not present in the runoff from creosotebush.     

Alterations in fibrinolytic and protein C pathways in gynaecological surgery: low molecular weight heparin prophylaxis

Several parameters of fibrinolytic and protein C pathways were evaluated in three groups of patients with high (HR), moderate (MR) and low (LR) postoperative thrombotic risk undergoing major gynaecological surgery. The HR and MR groups were subjected to low molecular weight heparin (LMW) prophylaxis. A significant increase in plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1) antigen and activity levels was observed in the HR patient group in comparison with the MR and LR groups in the preoperative and early postoperative period. In all the groups studied, the maximum increase in the levels of PAI-1 was seen on day 1 after surgery. However, the D-dimeric levels reached the highest level on day 7. A significant increase in activated protein C:alpha 1 antitrypsin (APC:alpha 1AT) complex levels was observed in the HR group in comparison with the LR group, and a strong decrease in protein C inhibitor in the early postoperative period was detected in all the groups. In spite of heparin prophylaxis, 2 HR patients were diagnosed as deep vein thrombosis (DVT) during the postoperative period. Both patients showed pre-operative levels of PAI-1 antigen or activity and APC:alpha 1AT complexes above the mean + 1 SD of the pre-operative levels in the HR group. In conclusion, in HR patients a hypofibrinolytic and hypercoagulable state was detected in the pre-operative and early postoperative periods. The prophylactic LMW heparin dose used in the present report (20 mg/day x 7) was insufficient to prevent DVT in the HR group. At present our HR patients are given higher doses of LMW heparin (40 mg/day x 7).