Uroscopy in the 21st century: high-field NMR spectroscopy

From the experiments described, it can be seen that there are different research approaches that can be taken and these are summarized in Table 1. Whereas much scientific research is principally hypothesis led, there remains, nevertheless, an important place for exploratory research. High resolution NMR can measure, directly and simultaneously, a wide range of endogenous metabolites in biological fluids and has the unique capability of providing structural information on the metabolites detected. It has proved to be a powerful research tool with which to study inherited metabolic diseases, renal disease, drug metabolism, and toxicity, and can be used to monitor the effects of drug therapy. For instance, by using a library of experimental toxins one can map the metabolic profile of site-specific nephron injury. With this approach in man one could eventually take an unknown disease such as Balkan nephropathy and predict the initial site of tubular injury, the mode of injury and therefore the kind of toxin capable of producing that injury. NMR spectroscopic techniques are still advancing rapidly, with ever increasing sensitivity and sophistication of NMR pulse sequences to enhance structural elucidation in complex mixtures. Given the advances in directly coupled HPLC-NMR and even HPLC-NMR-mass spectroscopy it is likely that these technologies in conjunction with pattern recognition will make major contribution to our understanding of renal processes and provide new diagnostic insights in the 21st century.      

Poverty and health in West Germany

Summary The relationship between poverty and several health-related characteristics in West Germany was investigated. Data were derived from the National and Regional Health Surveys conducted in West Germany from 1984 to 1992. 25544 males and 25719 females with German nationality aged 25–69 years were examined. Poverty was defined as a household income of 50% less than the mean for West Germany. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the relationship between poverty and four health variables: individual health behavior, subjective assessment of health status, cardiovascular disease risk factors, and self-reported prevalence of lifetime chronic diseases. 10.2% of males and 12.8% of females were classified as being below the poverty line. For most but not all health parameters, less favourable results were found for the segment of the population with a household income below the poverty line. The most striking poverty-related differences were observed for lack of regular sport activities, subjective health satisfaction, obesity and myocardial infarction/stroke. Significantly lower prevalence rates for study subjects below the poverty line were observed for hypercholesterolemia in females only. Allergic disorders were the only chronic diseases reported significantly less often in males and females below the poverty line. Poverty has strong effects on individual health status and the prevalence of chronic diseases. Due to the rising unemployment rates in Germany in the last years it is very likely that the strong negative consequences of poverty for health are increasing.

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Zusammenfassung Es wird untersucht, welche Zusammenhänge zwischen Armut und verschiedenen gesundheitsbezogenen Merkmalen bestehen. Datenbasis sind die nationalen und regionalen Gesundheitssurveys, die in den Jahren 1984 bis 1992 in Westdeutschland durchgeführt wurden. 25544 Männer und 25719 Frauen mit deutscher Nationalität im Alter von 25 bis 69 Jahren wurden einbezogen. Armut wurde definiert als ein Haushaltseinkommen, das um 50% niedriger ist als das mittlere Einkommen in Westdeutschland. Die statistische Auswertung erfolgte mittels multipler logischer Regressionsanalyse, 10,2% der Männer und 12,8% der Frauen hatten ein Haushaltseinkommen unterhalb der Armutsgrenze. Die ausgeprägtesten armutsbezogenen Unterschiede wurden beobachtet für den Mangel an körperlicher Bewegung, die subjektive Gesundheitszufriedenheit, das starke. Übergewicht und die kardiovaskulären Krankheiten. Signifikant niedrigere Prävalenzen für Personen mit Einkommen unterhalb der Armutsgrenze ergaben sich bei den Frauen für den Risikofaktor Hypercholesterinämie. Allergien waren die einzige chronische Krankheit, die bei beiden Geschlechtern signifikant seltener in der von Armut betroffenen Bevölkerungsgruppe berichtet wurde. Vor dem Hintergrund der in den letzten Jahren stark angestiegenen Arbeitslosigkeit in Deutschland ist zu befürchten, dass die negativen Konsequenzen der Armut für die gesundheitliche Lage deutlich zugenommen haben.

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Résumé Les rapports entre pauvreté et differents indices sanitaires ont été examinés. Les donnees proviennent des surveys de santé nationales et régionales, réalisées en Allemagne de l'Ouest durant les années 1984 à 1992. 25719 femmes et 25544 hommes de nationalité allemande entre 25 et 69 ans ont paticipé. Le seuil de pauvreté a été fixé à un revenu égal a 50% du revenu moyen en Allemagne de l'Ouest. On a analysé les indices sanitaires suivants: le comportement sanitaire individuell, l'auto-estimation de sa santé, les facteurs de risque cardio-vasculaires et la prévalence des maladies chroniques. L'analyse statistique a été réalisée par regression logique multiple. 12,8% des femmes et 10,2% des hommes avaient un revenu inferieur au seuil de pauvreté. Pour la majorité des indices sanitaires on a trouvé des résultats défavorables pour la groupe ayant un revenu au dessous du seuil de pauvreté. Le manque de mouvement, l'auto-estimation de sa santé, l'excés de poids et les maladies cardio-vasculaires sont les indices quid diffèrent, relatif à la pauvreté, le plus. Les femmes ayant un revenu au-dessous du seuil de pauvreté ont des pourcentages de prévalence inférieurs significatifs pour le facteur de risque hypercholestérolémie. Les allergies sont les seules maladies qui existent significativement moins souvent chez les deux sexes de la groupe des pauvres. En résumé, la pauvreté présente un désavantage pour la santé individuelle et la prévalence des maladies chroniques. Sachant que le taux de chômage s'est aggravé pendant les dernières années, il est à craindre que les effets négatifs de la pauvreté sur la situation sanitaire ont nettement augmenté.

     

Cross-reactivity of Streptococcus mutans antigens and human heart tissue.

Rocket and two-dimensional immunoelectrophoreses were used to demonstrate that antisera from rabbits immunized with Streptococcus mutans strain B13 cross-reacted with human heart tissue. Absorption of the anti-S. mutans serum with S. mutans whole cells removed all reactivity to heart tissue, but did not remove the reactivity of an added antibody marker to its corresponding antigen. The anti-S. mutans serum reacted most intensely with heart tissue antigen and to a lesser degree with skeletal muscle, but not with liver or kidney tissues. These results support the conclusion that antigens of S. mutans cross-react with mammalian heart tissue and, further, suggest that caution should be exercised in the formulation of a dental caries vaccine containing S. mutans antigens.     

Pre-B-cell colony-enhancing factor,whose expression is up-regulated in activated lymphocytes,is a nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase,a cytosolic enzyme involved in NAD biosynthesis

The murine homologue of the previously identified human "pre-B-cell colony-enhancing factor" (PBEF) gene coding for a putative cytokine has been identified by screening a subtractive library enriched in genes expressed in activated T lymphocytes. Unlike most cytokine genes known to date, the PBEF gene is ubiquitously expressed in lymphoid and non-lymphoid tissues and displays significant homology with genes from primitive metazoans (marine sponges) and prokaryotic organisms. Recently, a bacterial protein encoded by nadV, a gene from the prokaryote Haemophilus ducreyi displaying significant homology with PBEF, has been identified as a nicotinamide phosphoribosyltranferase (NAmPRTase), an enzyme involved in nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) biosynthesis. Using a panel of antibodies to murine PBEF, we demonstrate in this work that, similarly to its microbial counterpart, the murine protein is a NAmPRTase, catalyzing the condensation of nicotinamide with 5-phosphoribosyl-1-pyrophosphate to yield nicotinamide mononucleotide, an intermediate in the biosynthesis of NAD. The role of PBEF as a NAmPRTase was further confirmed by showing that the mouse gene was able to confer the ability to grow in the absence of NAD to a NAmPRTase-defective bacterial strain. The present findings are in keeping with the ubiquitous nature of this protein, and indicate that NAD biosynthesis may play an important role in lymphocyte activation.     

The effects of co-culture with human fibroblasts on human embryo development in vitro and implantation

In a human in-vitro fertilization (IVF) programme, the effect of co- culture of embryos with human fibroblasts was evaluated with respect to pregnancy rate and embryo development. Patients were included in the study after giving informed written consent. The IVF treatments were randomly assigned by stratification of both age (<36 versus > or =36 years) and previous IVF attempts (yes versus no). After fertilization was established, the zygotes were transferred to a 4-well dish with or without fibroblasts and cultured for 2 days. On the third day after ovum pick-up (OPU), cell number and quality [5 (good) to 1 (poor)] of the embryos were scored and a maximum of three embryos was transferred. Supernumerary embryos of good quality were cryopreserved. The design of this study was a group sequential trial with the objective of detecting differences between pregnancy rates following IVF with conventional incubation or incubation in co-culture with fibroblasts. This design included one evaluation at half-way data collection. In the study, 148 patients had an OPU, of whom 77 were allocated to the co-culture group. There was no statistically significant difference in pregnancy rate, cell number and embryo quality between the two groups. The ongoing pregnancy rate per embryo transfer was 27% in co-culture and 30% in the conventional culture group. The implantation rates per transferred embryo were 17 and 18% respectively. Using a multivariate logistic regression model for the probability of ongoing pregnancies, the odds ratio of co-culture, adjusted for age and previous IVF attempts, was not statistically significant. In conclusion, co-culture with human fibroblasts does not contribute to an improvement of embryo quality nor to a higher pregnancy rate after IVF in an unselected group of patients.      

Examination of Streptococcus mutans for immunoglobulin G Fc reactivity.

Representative strains of oral streptococci were tested for Fc immunoglobulin G (IgG) reactivity by two different techniques, agglutination of rabbit-IgG sensitized sheep erythrocytes and uptake of human and rabbit 125I-radiolabeled IgG. None of the S. mutans serotypes a through e reacted with the Fc region of either human or rabbit IgG. Additionally, other streptococci such as S. sanguis, S. salivarius, S. faecalis, and S. mitis failed to show appreciable Fc reactivity as assayed by these techniques. The group A, C, and G streptococci, previously shown to possess Fc reactivity, proved to be reactive in these experiments, as did a protein A-containing strain of Staphylococcus aureus.     

Three-dimensional modeling of the anatomy of the heart and great vessels

Summary The anatomic constraints imposed on a total artificial heart (TAH) require specific anatomic studies. A thoracic anatomic study was performed with a scanning device equipped with three-dimensional (3-D) reconstruction software on 15 male patients, between the ages of 41 to 63 years (52 ± 6 years). All were candidates for heart transplantation. The 3-D reconstructions of the cardiovascular structures obtained from surgical anatomy data specific to TAH implantation allowed a volumetric measurement of these structures. A modeling diagram of these structures permitted reproducible quantitative measurements of the 35 geometrical parameters which characterized shape, orientation, and position of these structures within the thorax. Most of the measured parameters were characterized by low variability (coefficient of variation from 10 to 25%).

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Modélisation tridimensionnelle de l'anatomie du cur et des gros vaisseaux

Résumé Les contraintes anatomiques imposées au cur artificiel total (CAT) nécessitent des études anatomiques spécifiques. Une étude anatomique thoracique a été réalisée avec un scanner doté d'un logiciel de reconstruction tridimensionnelle (3-D) chez 15 patients, tous de sexe masculin, agés de 41 à 63 ans (52 ± 6 ans), et candidats à une transplantation cardiaque. Les reconstructions 3-D des structures cardio-vasculaires réalisées selon les données de l'anatomie chirurgicale propre à l'implantation du CAT ont permis la mesure volumétrique de ces structures. Un schéma de modélisation de ces structures a permis des mesures quantitatives reproductibles de 35 paramètres géométriques caractéristiques de la forme, de l'orientation, de la position de ces structures dans le thorax. Les résultats de ces mesures ont pu être exprimés en termes statistiques. La plupart des paramètres mesurés étaient caractérisés par une faible variabilité (coefficients de variations de 10 à 25%).

     

Brain structures important for solving a sawdust-digging problem in the rat

Young rats subjected to bilateral lesions to one of 37 different brain sites were initially trained to traverse a narrow runway to reach a goal box containing water. The test involved blocking a portion of the runway with sawdust and determining whether the animals would burrow through the sawdust to gain access to the goal box. Lesions to 30 brain sites produced deficient performance on the sawdust-digging problem. This study, combined with earlier investigation of 11 additional brain sites, shows that 41 of 48 total brain sites are involved in this task. These findings suggest that underlying brain mechanisms include a nonspecific mechanism and several specific mechanisms, such as visuospatial-attentional, visual discrimination, vestibular-proprioceptive-kinesthetic discrimination, response flexibility, but much less place learning mechanisms.     

MR imaging of posteromedial and posterolateral stabilisers of the knee: anatomic basis and patterns of lesions in knee injuries

Summary The angular points are the ligamentous and tendinous structures that reinforce the posteromedial and posterolateral capsule of the knee and share in fixation of the posterior horns of the menisci. They are often damaged in acute injuries and this is usually associated with ruptures of the cruciate and collateral ligaments and may add to the degree of laxity. We describe the normal appearance of these structures in terms of the sectional anatomy, correlated with the lesional appearances of complete and incomplete ruptures and associated meniscal detachments as shown by clinical testing and arthrotomy findings.

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IRM des points d'angle du genou : bases anatomiques et applications aux genoux traumatiques

Résumé Les points d'angle sont des structures ligamentaires et tendineuses qui renforcent la capsule postéro-médiale et postéro-latérale et participent à la fixation des cornes postérieures des ménisques. Leurs lésions, fréquentes au cours des traumatismes aigus, sont généralement associées à des ruptures des ligaments croisés et des ligaments collatéraux et peuvent être source d'une aggravation de la laxité. Nous rapportons, en corrélation avec l'anatomie en coupe, l'aspect normal de ces structures, et en corrélation avec les données de l'arthrotomie et du testing les aspects lésionnels observés au cours des traumatismes : ruptures complètes, incomplètes et désinsertions méniscales associées.