Biomolecules Regulating Defense Mechanism in Plants

There are two types of defense mechanism in plants which are regulated by biomolecules. Physical defense is the corporeal barrier developed in the form of leaf surface wax, thorns, trichomes, cell wall thickness, lignification and secondary metabolites as toxins. Chemical mechanism includes emission of biomolecules such as proteins, secondary metabolites and volatile compounds in response to attack by herbivores and insects. Among proteins, storage proteins, tuber proteins and extracellular proteins take part in defense mechanism. Storage proteins include albumins, lectins, vicilins, glycine-rich proteins and proteinase inhibitors which play crucial role in defense against microorganisms and insect pests. Tuber proteins include patatins, ocatins and tarins which have antimicrobial activity against various phytopathogens. Plant extracellular proteins include pathogenesis-related proteins (PR) which have glucanases activity and chitinase activity against cell wall of microorganisms. The secondary metabolites such as phytoanticipins and phytoalexins have defense against microorganisms, insects and herbivorous animals. Volatile compounds include terpenes, terpenoids, fatty acid derivatives, phenylpropanoids, benzenoids, and sulfur- and nitrogen-containing volatile compounds. They are released by plants to repel or attack specific plant pathogens. Since these biomolecules have array of mechanisms to fight against plant pathogens, they can be utilized for reduction of environment pollution, human health and agriculture problems.

     

急性肠系膜血管缺血致短肠综合片临床分析(附8例报告)

急性肠系膜血管缺血,国外统计占住院病人总数的０．７％～１． ３％。而致短肠综合征者少见［１］。作者收集１９９３年５月～２０００年１月共８例急性肠系膜血管缺血致短肠综合征的患者,现分析如下：１资料与方法１．１一般资料男６例,女２例,年龄３８～８２岁,平均年龄６０．９岁。临床症状及体征：６例剧烈腹痛,呕吐频繁,呕吐物中为血水样浑浊液体,无血块。５例有脓血样便,２例伴有休克征象。体征：多数患者全腹压痛,反跳痛不明显,无肌卫,均表现为症状与体征不符。合并症及其它：脑梗死２例,心房纤颤２例,冠心病４例。１…     

Influenza Virus: A Brief Overview

Influenza is a major public health concern, infecting 5?C15% of the global population annually. Influenza virus belongs to family Orthomyxoviridae, and has three types A, B and C. Infection by influenza virus A is most common and severe, generally found in humans. It spreads rapidly and affects human population across large geographical region within short period of time with varying degree of pathology from mild to severe. Wild aquatic birds and other animal species like birds, pigs, ferret, horses, seals, whales, mink, giant anteaters, cats and dogs are the reservoir for the influenza A virus. Influenza B and C viruses have very limited host range and appear predominantly in humans. Influenza virus gains pandemic potential through genetic reassortment called ??genetic shift?? with complete renewal of surface antigen and a small but gradual genetic change by mutations which make it to adapt efficiently in human population called ??genetic drift??. Although, the epidemiology related to influenza infection has been studied from several years but some facts associated to disease transmission has poorly understood. This article reviews the important aspects of virological, epidemiological and clinical features related to influenza virus for better understanding of disease transmission and its pathogenesis.     

Tomographic Reconstruction: A Nonmathematical Overview

Tomographic reconstruction in single-photon-emission computed tomography (SPECT), positron emission tomography (PET), and computed tomography (CT) aim to reconstruct a three-dimensional object from a finite set of projections. Today, there are a number of approaches to tomographic reconstruction. This article aims to provide a refresher on the principles of tomographic reconstruction in SPECT, PET and CT in a nonmathematical manner. The tomographic reconstruction principles are common to SPECT, PET and CT data. The mathematical basis of analytical and iterative approaches to tomographic reconstruction is complex. This complexity may be prohibitive of a working understanding of reconstruction by medical radiation technologists; more so because of mathematical intimidation than lack of capability. Technologists can, however, develop a working knowledge from the principles and processes of reconstruction and use this understanding for decision making and problem solving.     

人工流产术后使用短效口服避孕药的价值

目的探讨人工流产术后使用短效口服避孕药的的临床意义。方法选取我院因计划外受孕行人工流产的早孕健康妇女120例。随机分为试验组和对照组。试验组使用短效避孕药,对照组采用安全套避孕,两组患者均在术后给予静脉滴注抗生素及口服宫缩止血剂一周。观察记录两组患者术后阴道出血时间、出血量、月经恢复时间、避孕效果、子宫内膜厚度及并发症。结果人工流产术后,试验组阴道出血时间、出血量、月经恢复时间、子宫内膜厚度及避孕疗效明显优于对照组(P0.05),试验组不良反应发生率明显低于对照组(P0.05)。结论人工流产术后使用短效口服避孕药临床疗效显著,值得推广。     

Nitroglycerin Headache and Nitroglycerin‐Induced Primary Headaches From 1846 and Onwards: A Historical Overview and an Update

Nitroglycerin (NTG) (glyceryl trinitrate) was synthesized by the Italian chemist Ascanio Sobrero in Paris in 1846. A very unstable explosive, Alfred Nobel while working on explosives, combined it with Kiselguhr and patented it as dynamite in 1867. NTG was introduced in 1879 in medicine in the treatment of angina pectoris by the English doctor William Murrell. NTG‐induced headache was quickly recognized as an important adverse event both in the industrial use of NTG, where it was used to produce dynamite, as well as in the use of NTG as drug. This review traces the evolution of our understanding of NTG headache.     

Antituberculosis Drug Research: A Critical Overview

The increasing drug resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to the currently used drugs and HIV coinfection has caused alarm in the international scientific community. Subsequently, there is an urgent need for the development of new drug molecules with newer targets and with an alternative mechanism of action. Since the last 50 years, the same long‐duration, multidrug treatment plan is being followed for the treatment of tuberculosis. The objective of this review article is to critically analyze the antitubercular potential of various classes of compounds (quinoline, diamine, quinolone, fluoroquinolone, quinone, nitroimidazole, terpenoid, isonicotinyl, oxazolidinone, pyrimidine, and purine), their possibility to be a future drug candidate, and latest information on the clinical status of some novel antitubercular compounds. Compounds such as moxifloxacin, PA824, and TMC207 are well tolerated and there is no adverse effect shown by them. Moxifloxacin and gatifloxacin shows cross‐resistance to the currently used drugs while no cross‐resistance observed in case of TMC207 and PA824. Some compounds like OPC67683 and PA824 are bactericidal in nature.     

In Defense of the Assault Cycle: A Commentary

Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment -     

Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection: A Comprehensive Overview

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection is an underdiagnosed cause of acute coronary syndrome that primarily impacts young women. Spontaneous coronary artery dissection as a cause of acute coronary syndrome is not rare and should not be overlooked. Spontaneous coronary artery dissection should be considered on the list of differential diagnosis of any chest pain occurring in young women with few typical risk factors. The purposes of this article are to broaden the understanding and increase awareness of spontaneous coronary artery dissection, specifically its diagnosis and clinical outcomes.     

Acute Flaccid Myelitis: A Clinical Overview for 2019

Acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) is characterized by flaccid paralysis of one or more limbs, often following a viral illness, with magnetic resonance imaging findings consistent with inflammation of the spinal cord gray matter. It is unclear whether all patients with AFM will have full recovery of neurologic function. Since 2014, there have been several clusters of AFM in the United States, with a 3-fold increase in reported AFM cases recorded in 2018 compared with the previous year. Epidemiological evidence supports a temporal association between respiratory enteroviral illness, particularly with enteroviruses D68 and A71, and clustering of AFM cases. However, causality has yet to be established. Treatment of AFM is primarily supportive. Adjunctive therapies such as intravenous immunoglobulin, corticosteroids, plasmapheresis, and fluoxetine have not been found to improve long-term outcomes. Further research is urgently needed to characterize and optimize management of this emerging, yet poorly understood, condition.     

High-Dose Insulin for Toxin Induced Cardiogenic Shock: Experience at a New High and Overview of the Evidence

BackgroundHigh-dose insulin therapy is an effective treatment for cardiogenic shock caused by the overdose of particular medications. Other treatment options are usually of limited benefit. Consensus suggests that early initiation improves efficacy. No ceiling effect has been established at doses in the general range of 0.5–10 units/kg/hour.Case ReportA 79-year-old man presented in cardiogenic shock after an intentional overdose of numerous cardioactive medications 10 days after experiencing myocardial infarction. A high-dose insulin infusion was commenced. This was titrated up to a maximum of 20 units/kg/hour (1600 units/hour) and sustained for 32 h (61,334 units total). Minimal adverse events were seen despite this exceptional infusion rate (3 episodes of hypoglycemia and 2 episodes of hypokalemia). Concurrent catecholamine support was used, and cardiovascular function was maintained until all support was withdrawn 5 days after admission.Why Should an Emergency Physician be Aware of This?Emergency physicians are pivotal to the successful initiation/up-titration of high-dose insulin therapy. They must balance the potential for treatment failure with other treatment options, mitigate against adverse events in the initial phase of therapy, and coordinate care between other hospital specialties. This case shows that the relative safety and efficacy was extended to an infusion rate of 20 units/kg/hour, the highest recorded in the published literature. This information may help guide treatment of similar cases in the future.     

Conflicts in the Doctor/Patient Relationship: A Short Research Report

The data for this paper come from the study initiated by the Lay Advisory and Research Committees of the British Columbia Chapter, College of Family Physicians of Canada. It recognizes that the practice of family medicine cannot exist without clients and that those clients will often have markedly different ideas about what they want and expect from those supposedly held by the professionals they consult. Thus a system operates in which representatives of the medical profession practice in local communities of prospective clients.¹ Practitioners claim that their skills are so esoteric that the patient is in no position to evaluate them; this is described as the prerogative of his peers. But the practitioner will be evaluated by the patient, albeit on an unprofessional basis with non-professional criteria. Hence, practice may consist of an interaction between two different and sometimes conflicting sets of norms.² A full report, “Family Medicine in a Consumer Age”, pp. 245 is available from the author for $7.50 (prepaid). This present paper summarizes a small portion of the major report.     

Biodiversity: An Overview

Biodiversity is the very basis of human survival and economic well-being, and encompasses all life forms, ecosystems and ecological processes. The current estimates of the total number of species on earth vary from 5 to more than 100 million, with a more conservative figure of 13.6 million species. Of these, only 1.78 million species have yet been described and awarded scientific names. Thus, our knowledge of diversity is remarkably incomplete. Biodiversity at any point in time is the balance between the rates of speciation and extinction. Biodiversity is not uniformly distributed on the earth and shows prominent latitudinal and altitudinal gradients. At least five major mass extinctions have occurred in the past at geologic-time boundaries. Studies indicate that we have entered into the sixth phase of mass extinctions. In all ecosystem types, terrestrial, freshwater and marine, species populations are declining. The current rates of species extinction are 100–1000 times higher than the background rate of 10⁻⁷ species/species year inferred from fossil record. It is now in the order of 1,000 species per decade per million species. Today we seem to be losing two to five species per hour from tropical forests alone. This amounts to a loss of 16 m populations/year or 1,800 populations/h. Major drivers for changes of biodiversity in future, in decreasing rank of their impact are land use change, climate change, N deposition, biotic exchange and atmospheric loading of CO₂. Accuracy of estimates of the total number of resident species and current rates of extinction remains undetermined, and the impact of species deletions on ecosystem function and stability is still a subject of debate among ecologists. There are two basic, often complementary strategies for biodiversity conservation. The in situ strategy emphasizes the protection of ecosystems for the conservation of overall diversity of genes, populations, species, communities and the ecological processes which are crucial for ecosystem services. Establishment of networks of protected areas are effective in this regard as these have the possibility to conserve primary forests and red-listed ecosystems. The concept of biodiversity banking could induce public participation. Establishment of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, an independent, international science panel (like IPCC) would help coordinate and highlight research on pressing topics, conduct periodic assessments on regional as well as global scales and provide predictions.

     

Cardiomyopathy: An Overview

Cardiomyopathies and their resultant systolic and diastolic heart failure remain the main cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in both children and adults and are a frequent indication for cardiac transplantation. According to the American Heart Association 2005 Heart and Stroke Update, more than 26,000 deaths each year in the United States are caused by cardiomyopathy. Cardiomyopathy is second to coronary artery disease for the most common direct cause of sudden death in the United States and is a leading cause of heart failure. This article provides an overview of the pathophysiology, causes, signs and symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of the different types of cardiomyopathies. Newer therapeutic modalities and pharmacologic interventions are discussed, with an emphasis on improving symptoms and long-term survival.     

Pharmacovigilance: An Overview

Purpose

Pharmacovigilance (PV) is a relatively new discipline in the pharmaceutical industry. Having undergone rapid growth over the past 2 decades, PV now touches many other disciplines in the research and development enterprise. With its growth has come a heightened awareness and interest in the medical community about the roles that PV plays. This article provides insights into the background and inner workings of PV.