Effects of Metal (Cd, Cu, Zn) Interactions on the Profiles of Metallothionein-Like Proteins in the Nile Fish Oreochromis niloticus

No abstract available.     

Acute blockade of beta 1-receptors in the asphyxiated sheep fetus

The effects of acute beta 1-blockade on fetal cardiovascular reactions during asphyxia were evaluated in 11 exteriorized sheep fetuses. Gestational age was 110-142 days. Asphyxia was induced either by ventilating the mother with low oxygen gas mixture or by mechanical reduction of placental blood flow. During asphyxia all fetuses reacted to metoprolol injection with a decrease in heart rate, myocardial contractility, cardiac output and arterial blood pressure. Five experiments resulted in irreversible fetal cardiovascular collapse. Isoprenaline was given to the fetuses during hypoxia to test the ability to further increase heart rate and activate myocardial beta-adrenoceptors. In those experiments with fetal cardiovascular demise after metoprolol, the isoprenaline injection did not result in a significant tachycardia. The surviving fetuses could increase their heart rate as a sign of a capacity to further increase the sympatho-adrenergic drive.     

Asymptomatic bacteriuria among the elderly living in the community: Prevalence,risk factors and characteristics

BackgroundAsymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) is common among the older persons. Several factors may precipitate ASB, including age-related changes in genitourinary system and comorbid diseases. Unnecessary antibiotic use for ASB could be associated with increased antibiotics resistance. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and related factors of ASB among the elderly living in the community.MethodsIn this study, 625 patients admitted to our geriatric outpatient clinic were enrolled. Comprehensive geriatric and physical assessment, a standardized questionnaire, medical history, and urine and blood sampling were performed. ASB was defined as identical microorganisms isolated from two consecutive urine specimens (≥ 10⁵ colony-forming units/mL).ResultsMean age of patients was 72.4 ± 5.6 and 394 (63%) were female. The prevalence of ASB was 6.2%. Whereas female gender was associated with ASB, presence of ASB was not associated with age, previous urinary tract infection (UTI), urolithiasis, genitourinary surgery, and/or urinary incontinence. Similarly, diabetes mellitus (DM), obesity, hypertension, and creatinine clearance were not found to be associated with presence of ASB. Laboratory results were similar in the subjects with or without ASB. The most commonly isolated organism was Escherichia coli (66.7%). In addition, while the specificity of leukocyte-esterase and nitrite were high, the sensitivity of both tests was low in the subjects with ASB.ConclusionsThese results indicate that ASB is common and the main risk factor for ASB is female gender among non-institutionalized elderly. E. coli were the most commonly isolated bacterium. Urine dipstick tests seem to be useful in older persons to exclude the presence of bacteriuria.     

Screening of medicinal higher Basidiomycetes mushrooms from Turkey for lovastatin production

As a first attempt, a study was carried out to test for lovastatin production ability in local higher Basidiomycetes mushroom isolates from Turkey. An extended screening was performed for lovastatin production in yeast lactose agar medium, among a total of 136 macrofungi isolates from the Basidiomycetes Culture Collection of Eskisehir Osmangazi University. Lovastatin production was evaluated by disc diffusion method and was also confirmed by TLC and HPLC. Only six isolates were found to be lovastatin producers. The highest production of lovastatin was obtained from the extracts from Omphalotus olearius OBCC 2002 and Pleurotus ostreatus OBCC 1031. The lovastatin amount produced by commercial strains, Aspergillus terreus NRRL 255 (7.0 mg/L) and Penicillium citrinum NRRL 1841 (7.0 mg/L), was nearly comparable to the amount produced by Pleurotus ostreatus OBCC 1031 (5.8 mg/L) and Omphalotus olearius OBCC 2002 (4 mg/L).     

Comparison of clinical characteristics in episodic and chronic obsessive-compulsive disorder

Our objective in this study was to compare the demographics and clinical characteristics of patients with episodic and chronic obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). We recruited 128 outpatients with a primary diagnosis of OCD according to DSM-IV diagnostic criteria. The episodic (n=24) and chronic (n=104) OCD patient groups were compared with respect to demographic variables and scores from various psychiatric rating scales. The severity of compulsions was found to be significantly lower in the episodic OCD group than in the chronic OCD group. When the frequency of Axis I disorders was assessed in the two groups, bipolar disorder was found to have a significantly higher prevalence rate in the episodic OCD group than that in the chronic OCD group. The results of our study point to the possibility of an association between a subgroup of OCD with an episodic course and bipolar disorder. The evidence of such a relationship, which needs to be confirmed in a larger sample, might expand the scope of the clinical assessment and therapy of this subgroup of OCD.