Das Verhalten der Amphibien in verschieden konzentrierten Lösungen

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Otitis media and feeding with breast milk of children with cleft palate.

The purpose of the present study was to analyse the incidence of acute and secretory otitis media (OM), and feeding with breast milk, and the use of a grommet in children with a cleft palate (CP/CLP) or cleft lip (CL), compared with controls. A total of 84 children between 6 and 10 years of age were studied. The CP/CLP group consisted of 48 children with an isolated cleft palate (n = 28), or a cleft lip and palate (n = 20). The CL group consisted of 15 children with an isolated cleft lip. The controls were 21 children without clefts. Children with CP/CLP had acute OM significantly more often than children without clefts (43/48 compared with 10/21), and secretory OM (40/48 compared with 4/21), despite the use of grommets. CP/CLP children were breast fed for a mean of 2.8 months (range 0-13), compared with 3.6 months (0-12) for CL, and 7.5 (0-24) months for controls. There was a significant correlation during the first 18 months of life between longer duration of feeding with breast milk and a lower incidence of acute and secretory OM in the three study groups combined. The incidence of otitis media was not affected by care in a day centre, having a sibling attending a day care centre, or by the family's medical history. Despite cleft repair and early treatment with grommets, both secretory and acute OM are common among children with cleft palate, presumably as a result of their eustachian tube dysfunction. The present study suggests that premature cessation of feeding with breast milk may contribute to an increased incidence of acute and secretory OM.     

Self-concept and introversion in adolescents with cleft lip and palate.

The purpose of this study was to investigate if adolescents with cleft lip, or palate, or both (CLP), have an altered self-concept, and to assess their degree of introversion, compared with a control group. The CLP group consisted of 55 adolescents (aged 17-20 years) and the control group consisted of 31 adolescents (16-19 years). The Tennessee Self Concept Scale (TSCS) was used to measure the subjects' self-concept, while the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Inventory (EPQ-I) was used to measure introversion. The results indicate that those with CLP have a normal or even a high self-concept, and no signs of introversion.     

Baroreflex effectiveness index and baroreflex sensitivity predict all-cause mortality and sudden death in hypertensive patients with chronic renal failure

OBJECTIVES: Impaired arterial baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) has been associated with cardiac mortality and non-fatal cardiac arrests after a myocardial infarction. Patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) have a poor prognosis because of cardiovascular diseases, and sudden death is common. The aim of this study was to assess whether BRS or the baroreflex effectiveness index (BEI), a novel index reflecting the number of times the baroreflex is active in controlling the heart rate in response to blood pressure fluctuations, is associated with prognosis in CRF. METHODS: Hypertensive patients with CRF who were treated conservatively, by haemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis were studied. Electrocardiogram and beat-to-beat blood pressures were recorded continuously and BRS and BEI were calculated. Patients were then followed prospectively for 41 +/- 15 months (range 1-64). RESULTS: During follow-up 69 patients died. Cardiovascular diseases and uraemia accounted for the majority of deaths (60 and 20%, respectively), whereas sudden death occurred in 15 patients. In adjunct with established risk factors such as age, diabetes, congestive heart failure and diastolic blood pressure, reduced BEI was an independent predictor of all-cause mortality among CRF patients [relative risk (RR) 0.50, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.33-0.71 for an increase of one standard deviation in BEI, P < 0.001]. Diabetes and reduced BRS were independent predictors of sudden death (RR 0.29, 95% CI 0.09-0.86 for an increase of one standard deviation in BRS, P=0.022). CONCLUSIONS: Both BEI and BRS convey prognostic information that may have clinical implications for patients with cardiovascular diseases in general.     

Fludarabine-based disease-specific conditioning or conventional myeloablative conditioning in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for treatment of non-malignant diseases

Fludarabine-based conditioning (FBC) was given to 24 patients and conventional myeloablative conditioning (MC) to 33 patients, most children, before hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for non-malignant diseases. The donors were human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A, -B, -DRbeta1-identical related (33%) or unrelated (67%). In the FBC group, two grafts failed versus three in the MC group; all were successfully regrafted. Fever was more common in the MC patients (P=0.003). Bacteremia occurred in 25% of the FBC group and 50% in the MC group (P=0.1). In the FBC group, platelet engraftment was faster and transfusions were fewer (P<0.05). Mucositis and renal function were similar in the two groups. The MC group had higher maximum bilirubin (P=0.03) and less often normal spirometry (P=0.04) after HSCT. A 7-year-old girl in the MC group had permanent alopecia. No patients had severe acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Chronic GVHD was rare. Complete donor CD3+ chimerism was more common in the MC group (P=0.01), but CD33+ engraftment was better with FBS (P=0.03). Treatment-related mortality was 4 and 15%, and 5-year survival was 89 and 85% in the FBC and MC groups. Although survival was similar, FBC is a promising alternative to MC in non-malignant disorders.     

Risk assessment in haematopoietic stem cell transplantation: viral status

Viral infections have been important complications in the transplant procedure from the early days of stem-cell transplantation, causing significant morbidity and mortality. It is important for the management of patients to assess the risk for viral infections that might develop after the stem-cell transplantation. This can be exemplified by cytomegalovirus (CMV) and other herpesviruses, but risk assessment is also important for other viral infections. The aim of this review is to describe current knowledge regarding recipient and donor serological status for viral infections.     

Initiation factors for translation of proteins in the rectus abdominis muscle from patients on overnight standard parenteral nutrition before surgery

Previous studies have provided conflicting conclusions concerning the efficacy of improving protein balance in patients by standard intravenous nutrition [TPN (total parenteral nutrition)], which is either explained by suboptimal nutritional regimens or insensitive clinical methods. The aim of the present study was therefore to evaluate the effects on the initiation of translation of skeletal muscle proteins by standard overnight TPN. A total of 12 patients who underwent standard surgery were included. TPN was provided as an all-in-one treatment by constant infusion [0.16 gN.kg(-1) of body weight.day(-1) (30 kcal.kg(-1) of body weight.day(-1))]. Saline-infused patients served as controls. Rectus abdominis muscle biopsies were taken at the time of the operation. The phosphorylation state of the proteins for initiation of translation was quantified. Plasma glucose, and serum insulin, glycerol, triacylglycerols (triglycerides) and NEFAs (non-esterified fatty acids; 'free fatty acids') were not significantly altered during TPN infusion, whereas total plasma amino acids increased, as shown by increases in methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, alanine, arginine, aspartic acid, glycine and histidine (P<0.05). Overnight TPN increased the formation of active eIF4G-eIF4E (where eIF is eukaryotic-initiation factor) complexes (P<0.05), whereas the inhibitory complex 4E-BP1 (eIF4E-binding protein)-eIF4E was moderately decreased (P<0.06). TPN increased the amount of the most phosphorylated form of 4E-BP1 (P<0.05), and increased the amount (P<0.04) and phosphorylation (P<0.01) of p70(S6K) (70 kDa ribosomal protein S6 kinase). In conclusion, an overnight pre-operative constant infusion of standard TPN altered initiation factor complexes, indicating activation of the initiation of protein translation in rectus abdominis muscle in the presence of increased plasma amino acid levels, but without a concomitant increase in energy substrates and insulin. In contrast with our results from previous studies, the methodology used in the present study appears to be more sensitive in reflecting directional changes in human muscle protein synthesis compared with traditional methods, particularly based on measurements of amino acid flux.