Synthesis of antimicrobial agents. 1. Syntheses and antibacterial activities of 7-(azole substituted)quinolones

A series of 6-fluoro- and 6,8-difluoro-7-(azole substituted)-1,4-dihydro-4-oxo-3-quinolinecarboxylic acids were prepared. Structure-activity relationship studies indicated that the antibacterial potency was better when the 6,8-substituents were fluorine atoms and the 7-substituent was either 1-imidazolyl, 20, or 4-methyl-1-imidazolyl, 25. From the results of studies on pharmacokinetic profile and toxicity, 20 and 25 were found to possess excellent antibacterial activities and to show high blood levels after oral administration to mice with low toxicity.     

Complex treatment and care of prostatic carcinoma patients

The authors' 5-year experience in the management and care of prostatic carcinoma are summarized. Their method differs essentially from earlier practice. They have found a new diagnostic and therapeutic method by introducing the TECO irradiation therapy, extensively using bone scintigraphy, by introducing cytostatics, extensively applying the prostate-specific acid phosphatase and by performing rectal biopsy of the prostate. They describe their own observations on the diagnostics and therapy of prostatic carcinoma. They stress that none of the therapies is the method of choice, the use of the various kinds of treatment are defined by strict indications. They state that care of prostatic cancer patients is highly important because only observation of the course of the disease may ensure the evaluation of treatment results and the indication of the adequate therapeutic method.     

A method for evaluating antianginal drugs in experimental animals: assessment of myocardial ischemia by myocardial pH

This paper describes a method by which antianginal drugs can be evaluated in the dog heart in situ. Myocardial pH was measured continuously by a micro glass pH electrode inserted in the left ventricular endocardial layers of the dog anesthetized with pentobarbital. Occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) decreased myocardial pH, and release of the LAD restored the pH. The myocardial acidosis induced by ischemia was metabolic in nature and accompanied by a decrease in the levels of adenosine triphosphate and creatine phosphate and an increase in the levels of lactate in the myocardium. Drugs were injected intravenously 30 min after incomplete (partial) occlusion ot the LAD, lasting until 60 min after drug injection. Propranolol, atenolol, and sotalol markedly attenuated the myocardial pH that had been decreased by LAD occlusion. Nitroglycerin, diltiazem, and nicorandil also attenuated the pH, but these drugs were less active in attenuating myocardial acidosis. Dipyridamole, nifedipine, and beta-2 adrenoceptor antagonists were least active in this regard. It is concluded that myocardial pH can be used as an indicator of myocardial regional ischemia and utilized for evaluation of antianginal drugs.     

The concept of culture: A core issue in health disparities

Contemporary discourse contains numerous examples of use of the concept of culture by social and behavioral scientists. Simple reification, where the speaker makes culture into a thing capable of action exemplifies one usage in public discourse. Some quantitative social scientists attempt to characterize people’s cultural identities by means of a single categorical variable, which often “lumps” people into categories such as “Hispanic” or “Black” that in fact have numerous culturally bounded subcategories. Approaches that emphasize cultural process are preferable to those who attempt to categorize; more complex measures of acculturation help investigators to make convincing analyses of circumstances in which health disparities occur. Examples in which investigators make appropriate use of cultural characterizations demonstrate their utility in investigating health disparities in Haitian American women, injecting and noninjecting drug users, Hispanic youth, and adult Hispanics at risk of HIV infection. Focus on culture in the study of health disparities can identify entanglements between structural factors such as poverty and lack of education and cultural factors such as beliefs about health. Qualitative methods coupled with quantitative methods have great potential to improve investigators’ grasp of cultural nuance while capturing the distribution of qualitatively derived behaviors.     

Lenticulostriate vasculopathy in twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome.

Intracranial pathology is a common and important complication in extremely low birth weight babies. Lenticulostriate vasculopathy (LSV) is an abnormal finding on cranial ultrasounds of sick babies and has been associated with congenital infection, chromosomal aberration and twin-to-twin transfusion. We describe a previously unreported situation of LSV being detected in both donor and recipient twin. This pair of monochorionic, diamniotic twins was admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at 28 weeks of gestation. The mother underwent an emergency caesarean section because ultrasound and Doppler studies showed stage III twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. The first twin weighed 998 g and second twin weighed 600 g. The first twin had an uneventful stay, whereas the second twin needed prolonged continuous positive airway pressure and indomethacin for patent ductus arteriosus. Both of them developed LSV. The clinical significance of this condition on the neuro-developmental outcome of a neonate has not yet been fully determined.