Breastfeeding perceptions in communities in Mangochi district in Malawi

Aim: To investigate mothers’ perceptions of breastfeeding and influences from their social network. Methods: A cross‐sectional survey was carried out in Mangochi district, Malawi where questionnaire data from 157 rural and 192 semi‐urban mother–infant pairs were obtained. Results: The proportion of mothers who thought that exclusive breastfeeding should last for 6 months and those who reported to have actually exclusively breastfed were 40.1% and 7.5% respectively. Of those who reported practising exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, 77.5% stated that exclusive breastfeeding should last for 6 months. This opinion was independently associated with giving birth in a Baby‐Friendly facility, OR = 5.22; 95% CI (1.92–14.16). Among the mothers who thought that exclusive breastfeeding should last for less than 6 months, 43.9% reported having been influenced in their opinion by health workers. Infant crying was the most common (62.4%) reason for stopping exclusive breastfeeding. Conclusion: The findings illustrate the positive impact health workers can have, as well as the need to raise awareness of the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding among both health workers and mothers. Furthermore, continued counselling of mothers on how to deal with stressful infant behaviour such as crying may assist to prolong exclusive breastfeeding.     

Inhibition of infiltration and angiogenesis by thrombospondin-1 in papillary thyroid carcinoma.

PURPOSE: Angiogenesis is essential for tumor growth and is controlled by the balance between angiogenic and antiangiogenic factors. We studied the expression of angiogenic factors and antiangiogenic factors in papillary thyroid carcinoma. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We investigated immunohistochemically the expression patterns and levels of antiangiogenic factor and its receptor, thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) and CD36, and four angiogenic factors, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), VEGF-C, angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2), and Tie-2, in the primary tumors of 75 papillary thyroid carcinoma patients. We also examined the microvessel count (MVC), using CD31 staining. RESULTS: VEGF expression strongly correlated with other angiogenic factors. The cytoplasm of cancer cells stained positive for all factors. Tie-2 and TSP-1 receptor also appeared in endothelia of microvessels. TSP-1 inversely correlated with the degree of invasion of the primary tumor to other adjacent organs and with MVC. A higher MVC correlated with poorer survival. To clarify the balance between angiogenic and antiangiogenic factors in the same tumor, we calculated the ratio of each angiogenic factor against TSP-1 as the antiangiogenic factor. The ratios VEGF/TSP-1, VEGF-C/TSP-1, and Ang-2/TSP-1 significantly correlated with a higher MVC. Furthermore, the ratios VEGF/TSP-1 and Ang-2/TSP-1 significantly correlated with the degree of infiltration. CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating that the balance between angiogenic and antiangiogenic factors correlates with distinct invasion to other organs and neovascularization of papillary thyroid carcinoma.     

New universal precaution aspiration tray

A new tray has been designed for use during procedures involving needles and other sharp objects. The tray includes a foam adhesive pad, marked into 10 sections, into which the sharp objects can be placed point first. After the procedure, the objects can be safely withdrawn by their handles and then discarded. The tray has been used in more than 250 procedures.     

A study on motility of sphincter of Oddi in postcholecystectomy syndrome

Endoscop c manometry of sphincter of Oddi(SO)and serumlevels of gastrin,glucagon,and somatostatin were measured in patients withpostcholecystectomy syndrome(n=12),asymptomatic cholecystectomised pa-tients(n=6),and controlled subjects(n=14).Pentagastrin-stimulated gastricacid secretion test was also performed in part of patients who had symptoms orno symptoms after gallbladder resection.The results showed that the patientsof symptomatic group had hypertonic dyskinesia of SO as shown by deep andwide waves superimposed on high basal pressure plateau of SO.The symptoma-tic group also had a higher serum level of gastrin and a greater BAO than tho-se of other two groups.No difference of serum levels of glucagon and soma-tostatin was found among these three groups.The hypertonic dyskinesia of SOand hypergastrinemia are considered as possibly important factors in the patho-genesis of postcholecystectomy syndrome.     

Rat myometrial smooth muscle cells express endothelial nitric oxide synthase

We examined if rat myometrial cells in culture generate nitric oxide (NO) and express various isoforms of NO synthase (NOS). Myometrial cells isolated from rats on day 18 of gestation were incubated with various stimulators and inhibitors of NOS for 24 and 48 h, and NO production was evaluated by measuring nitrites in the media and NOS proteins in the cell lysates. NO was produced by myometrial cells and its production inhibited by N(G)-methyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA). This inhibition was reversed by L-arginine (3 mM). Interleukin-1beta (IL- 1beta) significantly stimulated NO production, in a dose-dependent manner. The IL-1beta-stimulated NO production was inhibited by the NOS inhibitor, L-NMMA, whose effects were reversed by L-arginine. Abundant NOS III protein was detectable in freshly isolated myometrial cells, and this was maintained in culture in the presence of fetal bovine serum (FBS; 10%). In the absence of FBS, NOS III levels decreased significantly (by 90%) within 24 h. In contrast, NOS I and NOS II proteins were undetectable in freshly isolated muscle cells and in cells cultured without IL-1beta. However, NOS II protein in these cells was induced by IL-1beta. Thus, NO is produced by myometrial cells through the NOS III isoform, and the myometrial NO may be important in maintaining uterine quiescence during pregnancy.      

医学生心理健康状况与人格特征的相关分析

目的 :了解在校医学生的心理健康状况 ,为今后开展心理健教育提供有益的依据。方法 :采用 SCL-90和 EPQ量表对在校 5 88名医学生调查并作相关分析。结果 :医学生出现各类心理问题的比例为 6.80 %～ 3 2 .11% ,以强迫、人际敏感、抑郁和偏执为主。临医和护理专业学生心理问题的侧重点不同。女生在人际敏感、抑郁和恐怖等方面均高于男性。情绪稳定性 N和精神质 P与各因子及总均分呈正相关关系 (P<0 .0 1) ,掩饰度 L 与各因子呈显著负相关 (P<0 .0 1)。多因素回归分析表明 ,情绪稳定性 N和掩饰度 L对心理健康的影响起着重要作用。结论 :搞好学生的心理健康 ,加强健全人格教育是关键 ,同时要根据不同性别和专业区别地对待     

Assessment of variability in the shape of the motor unit action potential,the “jiggle,” at consecutive discharges

A method for quantifing shape variability, the jiggle, of motor unit potentials (MUPs) recorded with conventional EMG electrodes is presented. Amplitude variability at each point of time of the MUP was analyzed. Two new parameters are proposed: the normalized value of the consecutive amplitude differences (CAD), and the crosscorrelational coefficient of the consecutive discharges (CCC). Simulations showed that increased jitter of the constituent single fiber potentials increases the jiggle as expressed by an increase in CAD and decrease in CCC values. Even when the jitter value of each component was fixed, increased temporal dispersion increased the jiggle whereas an increased number of fibers decreased the jiggle. This new method has been applied in normal subjects, patients with chronic neurogenic diseases and patients with ALS. Jiggle was significantly increased in the ALS group, in agreement with visual observations. We believe that this method for quantifying jiggle will increase the information obtainable from routine EMG investigations. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Changes in gap junctional intercellular communication in mouse skin carcinogenesis

Gap junction intercellular communication (GJIC) has been measured in cell lines that represent different stages of chemically induced mouse skin carcinogenesis. No significant difference in GJIC, as measured by dye spread, was found in cultures of normal keratinocyte, papilloma or squamous carcinoma cell lines. There was no correlation, in this system, between the presence of a mutant Ha-ras gene and down- regulation of communication. There was, however, a marked decrease in GJIC (80-90%) on progression from squamous to spindle carcinoma cells. Measurement of GJIC in somatic cell hybrids shows that the genetic defect responsible for this down-regulation is recessive and is common to two independently isolated spindle cell lines. No abnormalities were found in the spindle cells in expression of connexin 43, a cell component involved in gap junction formation and permeability. However, expression of E-cadherin, a cell-cell adhesion molecule implicated in the process of gap junction formation, was missing in the spindle carcinoma cells. Introduction of an E-cadherin cDNA into the spindle cells partially restored junctional communication without causing any noticeable alterations in cell morphology. During the study a non- tumourigenic keratinocyte line, a sub-clone of a normal keratinocyte line, was also found to have a low level of GJIC. However, the defect in this line was shown, by genetic complementation in somatic cell hybrids, to be different from that in the spindle carcinoma cell lines. Consistent with these data, analysis by immunofluorescence shows an abnormal distribution of connexin 43 in these cells.