Effects of neonatal cortical lesions upon retinocollicular projections in the hamster

Autoradiography and anterograde horseradish peroxidase transport were used to examine retinocollicular projections in normal hamsters and in animals subjected to ablation of the ipsilateral, posterior neocortex at 1, 3, 6, 10 or 120 days of age. The crossed retinotectal projections of all groups were quite similar. There did, however, appear to be a slight increase in the density of the projection to the lower portion of the stratum griseum superficiale in the neonatally brain-damaged hamsters.The uncrossed pathway, on the other hand, was quite abnormal in the neonatally lesioned animals. In normals, the ipsilateral retinocollicular projection consisted almost entirely of a series of patches along the stratum yriseum superficiale-stratum opticum border in the rostral one-third of the colliculus. Only a few axons from the ipsilateral eye were observed in the caudal two-thirds of the tectum and these could only be visualized when horseradish peroxidase was used as the tracer. In all of the neonatally brain-damaged hamsters both autoradiography and horseradish peroxidase tracing demonstrated that the ipsilateral retina densely innervated the entire rostrocaudal extent of the colliculus.Retrograde tracing experiments demonstrated that the portion of the temporal retina which gave rise to the uncrossed retinocollicular projection in the normal hamsters was also the source of the expanded projection in the neonatally brain-damaged animals; and, further, that the numbers and areal distributions of ipsilaterally projecting retinal and retinocollicular ganglion cells were similar in the two groups.These findings suggest that, at least in the hamster, normal inputs from the two eyes may not be a sufficient condition for the development of the largely complementary pattern of collicular innervation by the two retinae.     

A new cardiothoracic centre: 'how to do it?'

All cardiac surgical patients, emergency and routine, from the South West peninsula of England had to travel long distances until 19 months ago, a stressful if not dangerous situation. This paper describes the planning, commissioning and start-up of a brand new cardiac surgical facility. The lessons learnt may help similar projects as provision of specialist health care decentralizes.     

Efficacy of a pure compound H1-A extracted from Cordyceps sinensis on autoimmune disease of MRL lpr/lpr mice

Cordyceps sinensis (CS) is a traditional Chinese medicine with immunomodulatory effect and is effective in improving the survival of lupus mice. In the present study we isolated a pure compound (H1-A) from CS and investigated its effect on inhibiting autoimmune disease progression in MRL Ipr/Ipr mice. Our results demonstrated that MRL Ipr/Ipr mice treated daily with H1-A (40 microg/kg/d orally) for 8 weeks had a progressive reduction in anti-ds-DNA production (optical density value decreased from 0.172 +/- 0.009 to 0.112 +/- 0.015) when compared with the control group (optical density value increased from 0.141 +/- 0.036 to 0.198 +/- 0.047). In clinical presentation, the treated group had a reduction in lymphadenopathy, a delayed progression of proteinuria, and an improvement in kidney function. Histologic analysis of kidney tissue indicated that H 1-A could inhibit the mesangial proliferation that was evident in lupus nephritis. However, there was no significant change in immune complex deposition. The studies reveal that the pure compound (H1-A) may be potentially useful for treating systemic lupus erythematosus in human patients, and they provide some questions for further investigation of the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus and lupus nephritis.     

三氟氯氰菊酯在不同载体上杀灭3种卫生害虫持续效果观察

目的:观察三氟氯氰菊酯微胶囊悬浮剂在不同载体表面杀虫活性持续时间。方法:在4种载体表面,按不同剂量(mgai/m~2)喷涂一定药液,采用强迫接触法观察其持续效果。结果:1.在玻璃板面按20mgai/m~2给药,对家蝇持续效果为90天;淡色库蚊及德国小蠊为100天。2.在油漆板面剂量同上对家蝇、淡色库蚊及德国小蠊的持续效果均有90天。3.在水泥板面按25mgai/m~2,对家蝇和淡色库蚊的持续效果为90天,对德国小蠊为80天。4.在石灰墙面按25mgai/m~2,对家蝇持续效果为50天,淡色库蚊和德国小蠊均为60天。     

Antioxidant administration inhibits exercise-induced thymocyte apoptosis in rats

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of antioxidant on exercise-induced apoptosis in rat thymocytes. METHODS: After exercise at 13.8 m x min(-1) for 60-90 min x d(-1) on a motor-driven drum exerciser for 2 consecutive days, rat thymocyte apoptosis was monitored by the feature of DNA fragmentation. To study the effect of antioxidant, rats were administered with butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) for 7 d before exercise. RESULTS: Exercise could induce thymocyte DNA fragmentation as detected on electrophoretic gel and by cell death detection ELISA kit. Further studies indicated that pretreatment with antioxidant BHA to rats resulted in a blockage of exercise-induced DNA fragmentation. The concentrations of glutathione (GSH) were not significantly changed in rat thymocytes after exercise with or without BHA treatment. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that reactive oxygen species may play a role in thymocyte apoptosis induced by exercise. However, changes in GSH levels were not observed in this exercise model.     

Pallister-Hall syndrome: clinical and MR features

A 4-month-old boy with polydactyly and bifid epiglottis was found to have a large sellar and suprasellar mass. When the diagnosis of Pallister-Hall syndrome was made, conservative management was elected. When the patient was 2 years old, the tumor had grown proportionally with the patient, and he was developing appropriately. Although rare, this entity is important to recognize not only for clinical diagnosis but also for appropriate management and genetic counseling.     

Respiratory abnormalities among male foundry workers in central Taiwan

The objectives of this study were to determine the relationship between exposure levels and respiratory abnormalities, to measure FVC and FEV1(1) changes per year based on work duties and to investigate the prevalence of and factors related to pneumoconiosis. A total of 583 male workers from 50 iron foundries in central Taiwan were investigated. First, workers' respiratory symptoms were categorized using a modified American Thoracic Society (ATS) questionnaire and then were verified by physician's examination. Next, pulmonary function tests were performed including: forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and forced expiratory flow rate. A chest radiograph was used to diagnose pneumoconiosis according to ILO criteria. Furnace workers were found to have the highest prevalence of chronic phlegm, thoracic disorders and chronic bronchitis. In general, smokers had a higher prevalence of respiratory symptoms as compared with non-smokers. Pulmonary function abnormalities and pneumoconiosis were closely linked to smoking and work duration. After adjusting for age, height and smoking there was a significant decrease based on work duration in FVC and FEV1 for furnace and moulding workers compared with after-processing and administrative workers. The overall prevalence of pneumoconiosis was 8.8%, highest among furnace (16.3%) and after-processing workers (11.4%) and lowest among administrative workers (2.5%). Using multiple logistic regression, the risk of developing pneumoconiosis (as compared with the administrative workers) for furnace workers was highest (8.98 times greater risk), followed by after-processing workers (6.77 times greater risk) and moulding workers (5.41 times greater risk). Prolonged exposure to free silica, and smoking habits, can result in respiratory abnormalities among foundry workers.     

YC-1 potentiates the antiplatelet effect of hydrogen peroxide via sensitization of soluble guanylate cyclase.

In the present study, we showed that 3-(5'-hydroxymethyl-2'-furyl)-1-benzyl indazole (YC-1), a nitric oxide (NO)-independent activator of soluble guanylate cyclase, could potentiate H2O2-induced inhibition of platelet aggregation and increase of platelet cGMP levels. The synergistic effect of YC-1 and H2O2 on platelet aggregation and increases of cGMP were almost completely prevented by catalase and a selective soluble guanylate cyclase inhibitor (1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ), or partially attenuated by the hydroxyl radical scavenger mannitol. In contrast, superoxide dismutase failed to influence H2O2/YC-1-induced inhibition of aggregation. Furthermore, YC-1 could enhance the activation of soluble guanylate cyclase caused by FeSO4/H2O2 and, this effect was prevented markedly by mannitol. These results suggest that YC-1 may enhance the antiaggregatory effect of H2O2 via the sensitization of platelet soluble guanylate cyclase. In addition, this phenomenon is, at least in part, dependent on H2O2-derived hydroxyl radical.