The cholecystohepatic circulation of trichloroethylene and its metabolites in dogs

In order to examine the cholecystohepatic circulation of trichloroethylene (TRI) and its metabolites, we injected the gallbladder with TRI and its metabolites, i.e. chloral hydrate (CH), free-trichloroethanol (F-TCE), trichloroacetic acid (TCA) and conjugated-trichloroethanol (Conj-TCE), using anesthetized dogs. The absorption rates of water from the gallbladder were 25-30% 2 h after administration for all substances. The absorption rates of substances were 65-70% in the CH, F-TCE and TRI groups, and 40-50% in the Conj-TCE and TCA groups 2 h after the administration. Conj-TCE in the blood absorbed from the gallbladder has a tendency to be directly transported to the venous system rather than to be taken into hepatocytes in the liver. All of the administered substances, in particular, F-TCE might be metabolized to other substances in the gallbladder.     

The prevalence and intensity of intestinal parasites in two Somalian communities

About 85% of the population of two Somali communities harboured soil-transmitted intestinal nematodes and/or protozoa. The commonest parasite (75% in the Lafoole institution and 59% in the Afgoye institution) was Trichuris trichiura. Mixed infections were common. The source of infection is contaminated fields around dwelling quarters, because of indiscriminate defaecation. One of the factors responsible for the higher incidence of hookworm in Lafoole (45%) compared with Afgoye (1.5%) may be the different soil character of the surrounding fields.     

Delta hepatitis virus infection in China

To assess the prevalence, epidemiological features and prognostic implications of hepatitis D (Delta) in Sichuan Province, The People's Republic of China, 649 sera (515 from HBsAg positive patients and 134 from HBsAg negative subjects) were tested by radioimmunoassay (RIA) for antibody to the hepatitis D virus (anti-HD). Forty-seven sera (7.2%) showed some degree of reactivity. Serial dilutions of these sera indicated that prozoning was not responsible for the equivocal results. Thirty-four of the 47 sera were submitted under code to a second laboratory for independent analysis. According to those results anti-HD antibodies were detected in four of these sera. The overall prevalence of anti-HD in the HBsAg positive patients therefore was 0.8% (4/515). On the basis of clinical, biochemical and histological data 427 HBsAg positive sera were further divided into acute Type B hepatitis, chronic Type B hepatitis, healthy carrier state and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) subgroups. Two of 65 (3.1%) anti-HD positive sera belonged to the acute Type B hepatitis group; one of 104 (0.9%), the chronic Type B hepatitis group and one of 246 (0.4%), the healthy carrier group. No antibody was detected in sera from 12 HBsAg positive HCC patients. All HBsAg negative patients were negative for anti-HD antibody. The results of this study indicate that despite a high prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection, positive serology for delta virus is uncommon in Sichuan Province, The People's Republic of China.     

Die traumatische Pneumatocele — Ein Fallbericht

Zusammenfassung Die posttraumatische Pneumatocele ist eine seltene intrapulmonale Veränderung nach stumpfem Thoraxtrauma. Anhand eines gut dokumentierten Falles wird diese seltene Form der Lungenkontusion dargestellt und die klinisch bedeutsame Differentialdiagnose diskutiert.

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Traumatic pneumatocele — a case report

Summary The posttraumatic pneumatocele is a rare intrapulmonary lesion following blunt thoracic injury. By means of a well documented case report this rare form of lung contusion is demonstrated and the clinically important differential diagnosis is discussed.

     

Effect of feeding peptic digest of soy protein isolate on rat serum cholesterol

Growing rats were fed ad libitum soy protein isolate (SPI) or its peptic (SPI-P) or tryptic digest (SPI-T) for a month and their sera were examined for cholesterol and triglyceride levels and enzyme activities such as cholinesterase, glutamate-pyruvate transaminase (GPT) and alkaline phosphatase. The rats fed SPI-P or SPI-T were inferior in growth to those fed SPI. Similarly, the serum glyceride level was lower in the SPI-P and SPI-T groups than in the SPI group. On the other hand, a significant difference was found in the serum cholesterol level between the SPI-P and SPI or SPI-T groups but not between the SPI and SPI-T groups. A similar tendency was observed for serum GPT and alkaline phosphatase activities, although there were no significant differences among dietary groups in small intestinal enzyme activities. As for the atherogenic index being a risk factor inducing atherosclerosis, the order of its value was SPI-P less than SPI less than SPI-T.     

Duct-associated lymphoid tissue (DALT) of minor salivary glands and mucosal immunity.

Minor salivary glands (MSG) play a substantial role in the secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA)-mediated immunity of the oral cavity. There are two possibilities for the induction of this immunity: (i) an explicitly local antigenic stimulus, or (ii) a remote stimulus as part of the so-called 'common mucosal immune system'. This communication is an attempt to consolidate available evidence in support of both possibilities and to address the former in detail. Although there is strong circumstantial evidence supporting the feasibility of MSG functioning as a part of the common mucosal immune system, direct experimental evidence is yet to emerge. On the other hand, there is increasing structural and physiological evidence in support of MSG serving as a local immunological organ. The purely local response is attributed to the presence of MSG duct-associated lymphoid tissue (DALT), which is comparable to gut- or bronchial-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT or BALT) in origin, tissue organization and function. DALT is accessible to oral antigens by retrograde passage through MSG ducts. Repeated topical antigenic challenging via the oral mucosa may result in the appearance of interacinar plasma cells carrying specific homologous antibodies in MSG. Gut or enteric priming of the same antigen, by passing the oral mucosa by gastric intubation, need not evoke a remote immune response in MSG. Since DALT is more likely to occur in healthy, young growing individuals, who are less likely to undergo bioptic examination of MSG, it has not yet been documented in humans. The physiologically induced DALT is apt to be confused with focal accumulations of lymphoid tissue in pathologically altered MSG, as a consequence of local and some systemic autoimmune diseases. An attempt is made to demarcaate healthy and pathological MSG on the basis of currently available clinical, serological, immunological and genetic evidence.     

Complement activation by female protein, the hamster homologue of human C-reactive protein

The capacity of Syrian hamster female protein (FP), a phosphorylcholine (PC)-binding pentraxin, to activate complement was tested in an in vitro system consisting of PC-coupled sheep red blood cells and guinea pig serum as the complement (C) source. FP was demonstrated to fix complement as reflected by hemolysis. Such hemolysis was eliminated by heat treatment (56 degrees C, 30 min) of guinea pig serum and inhibited by PC chloride but not dinitrophenyl lysine. The inability of C4-deficient guinea pig serum to provide lytic activity indicated that lysis proceeded through the classical hemolytic pathway.