Effects of ethanol on murine aggression assessed by biting of an inanimate target

The effects of acutely administered ethanol (0, 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 g/kg, IP) were studied in a tube-restraint/target biting model of aggressive responding using naive group-and individually-housed male Swiss mice. Behavioural measures were the latency to the first bite and the biting frequency. In saline-injected control animals, the levels of responding were significantly higher in group-housed than isolated mice. Animals given alcohol exhibited a dose-dependent suppression of biting frequency, and an increase in biting latency. Mice experienced in the tube-testing situation showed reduced baseline levels of biting, but alcohol produced similar effects to those in naive mice. There was no evidence of a biphasic action of alcohol.     

The impact of newspaper advertising on a regional antenatal health campaign

In 1981 the West Midlands Health services undertook a publicity campaign aimed at helping women to understand more about keeping healthy during pregnancy and encouraging them to seek early ante-natal care. A series of full page advertisements on ante-natal care were placed in local newspapers in the Region. Set out here are the findings of two studies of the impact of the publicity campaign. The first shows how far people's knowledge of what to do during pregnancy was altered by the publicity, and the second shows what people thought of the advertisements themselves and the further information sent to them on request.     

Precision Tracing of Household Dengue Spread Using Inter- and Intra-Host Viral Variation Data,Kamphaeng Phet,Thailand

Dengue control approaches are best informed by granular spatial epidemiology of these viruses, yet reconstruction of inter- and intra-household transmissions is limited when analyzing case count, serologic, or genomic consensus sequence data. To determine viral spread on a finer spatial scale, we extended phylogenomic discrete trait analyses to reconstructions of house-to-house transmissions within a prospective cluster study in Kamphaeng Phet, Thailand. For additional resolution and transmission confirmation, we mapped dengue intra-host single nucleotide variants on the taxa of these time-scaled phylogenies. This approach confirmed 19 household transmissions and revealed that dengue disperses an average of 70 m per day between households in these communities. We describe an evolutionary biology framework for the resolution of dengue transmissions that cannot be differentiated based on epidemiologic and consensus genome data alone. This framework can be used as a public health tool to inform control approaches and enable precise tracing of dengue transmissions.     

Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage during pregnancy: a comprehensive and systematic review of the literature

Neurosurgical Review - Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is an emergent condition requiring rapid intervention and prolonged monitoring. There are few recommendations regarding the...     

In Vivo Corrosion of Sleeved Ceramic Femoral Heads: A Retrieval Study

BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to evaluate a series of retrieved sleeved ceramic femoral heads used in total hip arthroplasty (THA) and determine qualitative and quantitative damage and corrosion patterns.MethodsAn IRB-approved implant retrieval database was utilized to identify all sleeved ceramic femoral heads collected from 1995 to 2004. There were 16 implants with an average duration of in situ of 70 months (range, 13-241 months). The femoral stem was known in 14 cases and was titanium alloy in each of those cases. None were revised for metal-related complications. Ten implants (63%) were from primary THAs, and 6 (38%) were from revision THAs. Damage and corrosion were qualitatively graded using a modified Goldberg method. A quantitative assessment was performed with a coordinate measurement machine (CMM).ResultsAmong the 16 retrieved implants, 1 (6%) demonstrated severe Grade 4 corrosion, 5 (31%) had moderate Grade 3 corrosion, 5 (31%) had mild Grade 2 corrosion, and 5 (31%) had no visible corrosion at the inner sleeve that interfaces with the stem trunnion. The only case of grade 4 corrosion occurred in the only head-sleeve in the study that was not factory assembled and was mated with a titanium molybdenum zirconium ferrous (TMZF) alloy stem. The mean maximum linear corrosion depth at the taper interface, as measured by the CMM, was 7.7 microns (range, 0.9-32.9 microns).ConclusionThis study is the first to quantify corrosion at the titanium interface of sleeved ceramic femoral heads. Potentially clinically significant damage and corrosion patterns were observed in a few failed retrievals; however, the majority of cases demonstrated minimal or no damage.     

Acquired Idiopathic Stiffness After Contemporary Total Knee Arthroplasty: Incidence,Risk Factors,and Results Over 25 Years

BackgroundAcquired idiopathic stiffness (AIS) remains a common failure mode of contemporary total knee arthroplasties (TKAs). The present study investigated the incidence of AIS and manipulation under anesthesia (MUA) at a single institution over time, determined outcomes of MUAs, and identified risk factors associated with AIS and MUA.MethodsWe identified 9771 patients (12,735 knees) who underwent primary TKAs with cemented, modular metal-backed, posterior-stabilized implants from 2000 to 2016 using our institutional total joint registry. Mean age was 68 years, 57% were female, and mean body mass index was 33 kg/m². Demographic, surgical, and comorbidity data were investigated via univariate Cox proportional hazard models and fit to an adjusted multivariate model to access risk for AIS and MUA. Mean follow-up was 7 years.ResultsDuring the study period, 456 knees (3.6%) developed AIS and 336 knees (2.6%) underwent MUA. Range of motion (ROM) increased a mean of 34° after the MUA; however, ROM for patients treated with MUA was inferior to patients without AIS at final follow-up (102° vs 116°, P < .0001). Significant risk factors included younger age (HR 2.3, P < .001), increased tourniquet time (HR 1.01, P < .001), general anesthesia (HR 1.3, P = .007), and diabetes (HR 1.5, P = .001).ConclusionAcquired idiopathic stiffness has continued to have an important adverse impact on the outcomes of a subset of patients undergoing primary TKAs. When utilized, MUA improved mean ROM by 34°, but patients treated with MUA still had decreased ROM compared to patients without AIS. Importantly, we identified several significant risk factors associated with AIS and subsequent MUA.Level of EvidenceLevel III, retrospective comparative study.     

STAG2 as a prognostic biomarker in low-grade non-muscle invasive bladder cancer

ObjectiveImprovements to bladder cancer risk stratification guidelines are needed to better tailor post-operative surveillance and adjuvant therapy to individual patients. We previously identified STAG2 as a commonly mutated tumor suppressor gene in bladder cancer and an independent predictor of progression in NMIBC. Here we test the value of combining STAG2 immunostaining with other risk stratification biomarkers in NMIBC, and as an individual biomarker in MIBC.Materials and MethodsSTAG2 immunohistochemistry was performed on a progressor-enriched cohort of tumors from 297 patients with NMIBC, and on tumors from 406 patients with MIBC from Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark. Survival analysis was performed using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, the log rank test, and Cox proportional hazards models.ResultsSTAG2-negative low-grade NMIBC tumors were 2.5 times less likely to progress to muscle invasion than STAG2-positive low-grade NMIBC tumors (Log-rank test, P = 0.008). In a composite group of patients with AUA intermediate and high-risk NMIBC tumors, STAG2-negative tumors were less likely to progress (Log-rank test, P = 0.02). In contrast to NMIBC, we show that STAG2 is not useful as a prognostic biomarker in MIBC.ConclusionsSTAG2 immunostaining can be used to subdivide low-grade NMIBC tumors into two groups with substantially different risks of disease progression. Furthermore, STAG2 immunostaining may be useful to enhance NMIBC risk stratification guidelines, though larger cohorts are needed to solidify this conclusion in individual risk groups. STAG2 is not useful as a biomarker in MIBC. Further study of the use of STAG2 immunostaining as a biomarker for predicting the clinical behavior in NMIBC is warranted.     

Perturbation of the sarcolemmal membrane in isoproterenol-induced myocardial injury of the rat. Permeability and freeze-fracture studies in vivo and in vitro.

The mechanism whereby cardiotoxic doses of isoproterenol (ISO) induces early permeability alteration of the sarcolemmal membrane is unknown; both beta-receptor overstimulation and direct toxic effect of ISO oxidation products have been implicated. There has been no morphologic observation, furthermore, on the structural basis of permeability alteration during this process. The purpose of the present study was to compare the morphology of cardiocyte injury induced by ISO and oxidized ISO (ISO-O2) and to visualize perturbation of the sarcolemma correlating with the leaky membrane. The authors studied the left ventricular myocardium of rats 10 and 60 minutes after subcutaneous administration of 85 mg/kg ISO and isolated perfused rat hearts exposed for 10 minutes either to ISO or ISO-O2 in a dose of 100 mg/l (10(-4) M) to determine the permeability of the sarcolemmal membrane using the extracellular diffusion tracer horseradish peroxidase (HRP) by light and thin section electron microscopy, the morphology of the sarcolemmal membrane by means of freeze-fracture electron microscopy, and the density of intramembrane particles (IMP) in the sarcolemmal membrane by planimetry using freeze-fracture electron microscopy. In in vivo rat hearts both 10 and 60 minutes after ISO and in vitro (isolated perfused) rat hearts exposed to either ISO or ISO-O2 for 10 minutes, HRP labeled the sarcoplasm of focally located cardiocytes implicating leakiness of the sarcolemmal membrane. HRP positive cardiocytes (with the exception of the in vivo 10 minute group) showed characteristic features of contraction band necrosis (both on light and thin-section electron microscopy) in all groups. Freeze-fracture electron microscopy of sarcolemmal protoplasmic (P) membrane faces revealed two populations of cardiocytes in all groups. P-membrane faces in one population of cardiocytes appeared as in the control. In the other population of cardiocytes, P-membrane faces showed irregular tears. Planimetry demonstrated a significant decrease of IMP numerical densities in P-membrane faces with tears in the in vivo 10 minute group and both with or without tears in the in vivo 60 minutes group and the in vitro groups compared with the control values. Furthermore, with the exception of the 10 minute in vivo group, IMP densities significantly decreased in sarcolemmal membranes with tears compared with those without tears in all experimental groups. These observations are consistent with the view that catecholamine induced myocardial injury is, at least partly, related to the direct toxic effect of catecholamine oxidation products on the sarcolemmal membrane.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

EFFICACY OF SUCRALFATE IN PREVENTING GASTROINTESTINAL SIDE EFFECTS OF NSAIDs

To find out the efficacy of sucralfate in preventing gastrointestinal side effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) a prospective, randomised single blind study was conducted from 1989 to 1992. Patients with osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and other long standing painful conditions, who were expected to receive NSAIDs for over three months, were recruited into the study. All medicines were discontinued for a period of 10–15 days prior to initial endoscopic assessment. NSAID therapy was started and the patients were randomised to receive either placebo (group A) or sucralfate (group B) in addition. Patient were reassessed clinically every week and an endoscopic examination was repeated after 6–8 weeks of follow-up. A total of 176 patients were studied in group A (n=91) and group B (n=85). At the end of 8 weeks gastrointestinal symptoms were present in 30.6% and 26.4% patients of group A and B respectively. Endoscopic assessment showed superficial lesions in 36.5% and 18.7% while endoscopic ulcer in 2.4% and 1.1% patients of groups A and B respectively. Thus in patients receiving chronic NSAID therapy, simultaneous administration of sucralfate reduces the incidence of superficial gastric lesions but has no significant effect on symptoms or ulcer formation.KEY WORDS: Gastropathy, Sucralfate, Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs