Task-dependent development of tolerance to scopolamine

Rats were chronically treated with once daily injections of either 0.5 mg/kg scopolamine hydrochloride or isotonic saline for 21 days. When spontaneous locomotor activity or acquisition of active avoidance in a two-way shuttle box were measured at 48 hours after the cessation of chronic treatment, no differences were observed between the two chronically treated groups. Tolerance to scopolamine's locomotor stimulatory effects was evident as the increase in locomotor activity following acute treatment was smaller in the group which had been chronically treated with scopolamine. On the other hand, acutely administered scopolamine facilitated the acquisition of active avoidance responding to an equal degree in both chronically treated groups. The reasons which may account for this task-dependent tolerance development to scopolamine are discussed.     

Granulomatous Lymphangiitis (Melkersson‐Rosenthal Type)

A 33‐year‐old Caucasian female presented with a ten‐year history of flushing and facial swelling partially responsive to anti‐inflammatory and anti‐microbial therapies. Progressive edema of the right upper eyelid was recently treated by blepharoplasty. The blepharoplasty specimen had a dense mononuclear inflammatory infiltrate and diffuse non‐caseating granulomas composed of epithelioid and multinucleated histiocytes. The granulomas appeared both peri‐and intralymphatic with prominent molding. Special stains and polarization studies were negative. To confirm the intralymphatic location of these granulomas we performed immunohistochemical staining with Factor VIII and D2–40. D2–40 is a new monoclonal antibody that reacts with an O‐linked sialoglycoprotein found on lymphatic endothelium, fetal testis, and on the surface of testicular germ cell tumors. In recent studies, clone D2–40 has shown staining in lymphatic channel endothelium but not in adjacent capillary. Factor VIII antibody highlighted both lymphatic and blood vessel endothelium, while D2–40 stained only the lymphatic endothelium and confirmed the intra‐lymphatic location of granulomas. The patient was diagnosed with granulomatous lymphangiitis of the Melkersson‐Rosenthal type (orofacial granulomatosis). Granulomatous lymphangiitis is characteristic but not completely diagnostic of the Melkersson‐Rosenthal syndrome. We present the complex differential diagnosis of intralymphatic granulomas and the use of a new monoclonal antibody helpful in verifying their location.     

Further evidence implicating diacylglycerol generation and protein kinase C activation in agonist-induced increases in glucose uptake. Insulin-like effects of phenylephrine in BC3H-1 myocytes

We have previously suggested that insulin effects on 2-deoxyglucose (2-DOG) uptake in BC3H-1 myocytes are due to increases in de novo phospholipid synthesis, diacylglycerol generation, and protein kinase C activation. To test this hypothesis further, we examined the effects of phenylephrine, an agonist that increases diacylglycerol and protein kinase C activity through phospholipase C activation. As evidence for phospholipase activation in BC3H-1 myocytes, we found that phenylephrine increased acute 32PO4 incorporation into phosphatidic acid and phosphatidylinositol, generation of [3H]inositol phosphates from prelabeled [3H]inositol phospholipids, cytosolic Ca2+, and membrane-bound protein kinase C. Phenylephrine also provoked dose-related increases in [3H]2-DOG uptake that were similar in magnitude and time course to those induced by insulin. As with insulin, phenylephrine effects on 2-DOG uptake were not apparent in myocytes that were maximally stimulated with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate, a diacylglycerol analogue that activates protein kinase C. These findings support our hypothesis that diacylglycerol generation and protein kinase C activation may be important in the stimulation of glucose uptake by agents such as phenylephrine and insulin that activate the phosphoinositide cycle.     

Oral hygiene phase revisited: How different study designs have affected results in intervention studies

Every periodontal researcher have been taught, and every textbook in periodontics have advocated, that a phase in which the patient is meticulously motivated and instructed in proper oral hygiene—the oral hygiene phase—must be included in any periodontal intervention. However, how is this oral hygiene phase actually portrayed in periodontal intervention studies, and how much space have this important phase received in the planning and carry‐through of intervention studies? The purpose of this letter to the editor was to review current literature in the period 1975/01/01–2017/12/31 on periodontal, mechanical intervention studies in order to see what focus the oral hygiene phase had received in these articles. The result showed that the oral hygiene phase is variable in length and content, variable in claimed result, insufficiently described, and invariably amalgamated with the scaling and root planing which is the intervention or part of an intervention. The consequences of these findings are discussed and suggestions proposed for more harmonized and calibrated oral hygiene phase introduced to avoid biased and inflated results of interventions.     

Kinetics of Thyroxine (T4) and Triiodothyronine (T3) Transport in the Isolated Rat Heart

The dynamics and kinetics of thyroid hormone transport in the isolated rat heart were examined using the modified unidirectional paired tracer dilution method. The uptake of (125)I-thyroxine ((125)I-T(4)) and (125)I-triiodothyronine ((125)I-T(3)) from the extracellular space into heart cells was measured relative to the extracellular space marker (3)H-mannitol. The thyroid hormone maximal uptake was 54.4 % for (125)I-T(4) and 52.15 % for (125)I-T(3). The thyroid hormone net uptake was 25.69 % for (125)I-T(4) and 25.49 % for (125)I-T(3). Backflux from the intracellular space was 53.17 % for (125)I-T(4) and 61.59 % for (125)I-T(3). In the presence of unlabelled thyroid hormones, (125)I-T(4) and (125)I-T(3) maximal uptakes were reduced from 10.1 to 59.74 % and from 34.6 to 65.3 %, respectively, depending on the concentration of the unlabelled hormone, suggesting a saturable mechanism of the thyroid hormone uptake by the heart cells, with K(m(T4))= 105.46 microM and the maximal rate of (125)I-thyroid hormone flux from the extracellular space to heart cells (V(max(T4))) = 177.84 nM min(-1) for (125)I-T(4) uptake, and K(m(T3)) = 80.0 microM and V(max(T3)) = 118.5 nM min(-1) for (125)I-T(3) uptake. Experimental Physiology (2001) 86.1, 13-18.     

Socioeconomic factors, ethnicity and alcohol-related mortality in regions in Slovakia. What might a tree analysis add to our understanding?

Regional differences in alcohol-related mortality might reflect strong socioeconomic differences between regions. The present study examines the contribution of education, unemployment, income and minority proportion on regional differences in alcohol-related mortality for inhabitants aged 20-64 years. Linear regression analysis and a non-parametric regression tree analysis were used separately for males and females. The unemployment rate and low education appeared as important determinants of regional alcohol-related mortality, while the proportion of Roma and income were not significantly associated with alcohol-related mortality among males in Slovak districts. A district's unemployment rate was assumed to be the strongest predictor of the outcome measure.     

Regional socioeconomic indicators and ethnicity as predictors of regional infant mortality rate in Slovakia

Objective  

Exploring the associations of regional differences in infant mortality with selected socioeconomic indicators and ethnicity could offer important clues for designing public health policy measures.     

Computer simulation of flow and mixing at the duodenal stump after gastric resection

AIM： To investigate the flow and mixing at the duodenal stump after gastric resection, a computer simulation was implemented. METHODS： Using the finite element method, two different Billroth fl procedure cases （A and B） were modeled. Case A was defined with a shorter and almost straight duodenal section, while case B has a much longer and curved duodenal section. Velocity, pressure and food concentration distribution were determined and the numerical results were compared with experimental observations. RESULTS： The pressure distribution obtained by numerical simulation was in the range of the recorded experimental results. Case A had a more favorable pressure distribution in comparison with case B. However, case B had better performance in terms of food transport because of more continual food distribution, as well as better emptying of the duodena section. CONCLUSION： This study offers insight into the transport process within the duodenal stump section after surgical intervention, which can be useful for future patient-specific predictions of a surgical outcome.