Predicting serious bacterial infection in young children with fever without apparent source

The aim of this study was to design a clinical rule to predict the presence of a serious bacterial infection in children with fever without apparent source. Information was collected from the records of children aged 1-36 mo who attended the paediatric emergency department because of fever without source (temperature > or = 38 degrees C and no apparent source found after evaluation by a general practitioner or history by a paediatrician). Serious bacterial infection included bacterial meningitis, sepsis, bacteraemia, pneumonia, urinary tract infection, bacterial gastroenteritis, osteomyelitis and ethmoiditis. Using multivariate logistic regression and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC area), the diagnostic value of predictors for serious bacterial infection was judged, resulting in a risk stratification. Twenty-five percent of the 231 patients enrolled in the study (mean age 1.1 y) had a serious bacterial infection. Independent predictors from history and examination included duration of fever, poor micturition, vomiting, age, temperature < 36.7 degrees C or > or = 40 degrees C at examination, chest-wall retractions and poor peripheral circulation (ROC area: 0.75). Independent predictors from laboratory tests were white blood cell count, serum C-reactive protein and the presence of >70 white blood cells in urinalysis (ROC area: 0.83). The risk stratification for serious bacterial infection ranged from 6% to 92%. CONCLUSION: The probability of a serious bacterial infection in the individual patient with fever without source can be estimated more precisely by using a limited number of symptoms, signs and laboratory tests.     

模拟失重和噪声复合因素对豚鼠内耳淋巴液容积的影响

目的探讨模拟失重和噪声复合因素对豚鼠内耳淋巴液容积的影响。方法健康豚鼠24只随机分为单纯失重组12只、单纯噪声组6只、失重+噪声组6只,分别测试实验前、实验5天及实验结束后3天听性脑干诱发电位(ABR)阈值及内耳MRI扫描,并用自制专用软件对内耳淋巴液容积进行计算。结果单纯噪声组实验前后内耳容积无差异(P>0.05);单纯失重组实验5天与实验前、实验结束后3天与实验5天相比有显著性差异(P<0.01),实验结束后3天与实验前相比无明显差异(P>0.05);失重+稳态噪声组实验5天及实验结束后3天豚鼠内耳容积较实验前明显增大(P<0.01),实验5天与实验结束后3天豚鼠内耳容积无显著差异(P>0.05)。结论失重环境可使豚鼠内耳淋巴液容积变大,但是短期单纯失重环境豚鼠内耳淋巴液容积变化可恢复,失重加噪声复合因素会加重内耳淋巴液容积变化,且实验后3天后内耳淋巴液容积无恢复。     

镁基植入体植入兔股骨后周围骨微结构变化趋势

目的研究镁基植入体植入兔股骨不同时间点周围骨微结构参数的变化规律。方法将直径2 mm、长7 mm有螺纹及无螺纹的高纯镁(99.99 wt.%)钉植入兔股骨髁,对照组为钻孔组及健康组。在术后8、12、16周进行Micro-CT扫描和分析,得到各组微结构参数,包括:骨质密度(BMD)、骨体积分数(BV/TV)、骨小梁厚度(Tb.Th)、骨小梁数量(Tb.N)、骨小梁分离度(Tb.Sp)。结果 8周时无螺纹镁钉组BMD、BV/TV显著高于健康组,Tb.N显著高于钻孔组与健康组,Tb.Sp显著低于健康组;12周时有螺纹镁钉组BMD、BV/TV、Tb.N显著高于钻孔组与健康组,Tb.Th显著高于健康者,Tb.Sp显著低于钻孔组与健康组;16周时无螺纹镁钉组的BMD、BV/TV、Tb.N显著高于钻孔组与健康组,Tb.Sp显著低于钻孔组与健康组。结论镁基植入体促使周围骨组织的BMD、BV/TV、Tb.Th、Tb.N更高,Tb.Sp更低,说明其骨整合与骨生长状况良好,镁基植入体能有效促进骨再生。研究结果为镁基植入体的骨科临床应用提供理论依据。     

Basolateral choline transport in isolated rabbit renal proximal tubules

 Choline can undergo both net secretion and net reabsorption by renal proximal tubules, but at physiological plasma levels net reabsorption occurs. During this process, choline enters the cells at the luminal side down an electrochemical gradient via a specific transporter with a high affinity for choline. It appeared likely that choline was then transported out of the cells against an electrochemical gradient at the basolateral membrane by countertransport for another organic cation. This possibility was examined by studying net transepithelial reabsorption and basolateral uptake and efflux of [¹⁴C]choline in isolated S2 segments of rabbit renal proximal tubules. Basolateral uptake, which was inhibited by other organic cations such as tetraethylammonium (TEA), appeared to occur by the standard organic cation transport pathway. However, the addition of TEA to the bathing medium not only failed to trans-stimulate net transepithelial reabsorption and basolateral efflux of [¹⁴C]choline but it actually inhibited transepithelial reabsorption by @60%. The results do not support the presence of a countertransport step for choline against an electrochemical gradient at the basolateral membrane. Instead, they suggest that choline crosses this membrane by some form of carrier-mediated diffusion even during the reabsorptive process. Received: 24 March 1998 / Received after Revision: 15 June 1998 / Accepted: 2 July 1998     

Androgen receptor YAC transgenic mice carrying CAG 45 alleles show trinucleotide repeat instability

X-linked spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the first exon of the androgen receptor (AR) gene. Disease-associated alleles (37-66 CAGs) change in length when transmitted from parents to offspring, with a significantly greater tendency to shift size when inherited paternally. As transgenic mice carrying human AR cDNAs with 45 and 66 CAG repeats do not display repeat instability, we attempted to model trinucleotide repeat instability by generating transgenic mice with yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs) carrying AR CAG repeat expansions in their genomic context. Studies of independent lines of AR YAC transgenic mice with CAG 45 alleles reveal intergenerational instability at an overall rate of approximately 10%. We also find that the 45 CAG repeat tracts are significantly more unstable with maternal transmission and as the transmitting mother ages. Of all the CAG/CTG repeat transgenic mice produced to date the AR YAC CAG 45 mice are unstable with the smallest trinucleotide repeat mutations, suggesting that the length threshold for repeat instability in the mouse may be lowered by including the appropriate flanking human DNA sequences. By sequence-tagged site content analysis and long range mapping we determined that one unstable transgenic line has integrated an approximately 70 kb segment of the AR locus due to fragmentation of the AR YAC. Identification of the cis - acting elements that permit CAG tract instability and the trans -acting factors that modulate repeat instability in the AR YAC CAG 45 mice may provide insights into the molecular basis of trinucleotide repeat instability in humans.      

Linkage of the MHC to familial multiple sclerosis suggests genetic heterogeneity. The Multiple Sclerosis Genetics Group

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. While its etiology is not well understood, genetic factors are clearly involved. Until recently, most genetic studies in MS have been association studies using the case-control design testing specific candidate genes and studying only sporadic cases. The only consistently replicated finding has been an association with the HLA-DR2 allele within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) on chromosome 6. Using the genetic linkage design, however, evidence for and against linkage of the MHC to MS has been found, fostering suggestions that sporadic and familial MS have different etiologies. Most recently, two of four genomic screens demonstrated linkage to the MHC, although specific allelic associations were not tested. Here, a dataset of 98 multiplex families was studied to test for an association to the HLA-DR2 allele in familial MS and to determine if genetic linkage to the MHC was due solely to such an association. Three highly polymorphic markers (HLA-DR, D6S273 and TNFbeta) in the MHC demonstrated strong genetic linkage (parametric lod scores of 4.60, 2.20 and 1.24, respectively) and a specific association with the HLA-DR2 allele was confirmed (TDT; P < 0.001). Stratifying the results by HLA-DR2 status showed that the linkage results were limited to families segregating HLA-DR2 alleles. These results demonstrate that genetic linkage to the MHC can be explained by the HLA-DR2 allelic association. They also indicate that sporadic and familial MS share a common genetic susceptibility. In addition, preliminary calculations suggest that the MHC explains between 17 and 62% of the genetic etiology of MS. This heterogeneity is also supported by the minority of families showing no linkage or association with loci within the MHC.      

Secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor/vascular permeability factor from human luteinized granulosa cells is human chorionic gonadotrophin dependent

Vascularization is a prominent event during corpus luteum formation, providing low density lipoproteins for steroid biosynthesis and enabling transport of secreted steroids. The process of vascularization is controlled by specific regulators. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), otherwise named vascular permeability factor (VPF), induces endothelial cell proliferation as well as angiogenesis in vivo and increases capillary permeability. Here we report the expression of VEGF/VPF mRNA by cultured human luteinized granulosa cells (GC) for at least 10 days. Without HCG VEGF/VPF expression declined after day 4 and by day 10 was reduced to approximately 30% of the value at day 4. However, after culture in the presence of 1 U/ml human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG), expression of VEGF/VPF mRNA by GC was four times greater than control experiments by day 10, and increased 100% from day 4 to day 10. Simultaneously, HCG supplementation increased VEGF/VPF secretion by GC. Medium VEGF/VPF on day 3 was 13 pM without and 11 pM with HCG. Medium VEGF/VPF on day 10 was 6 pM without HCG and 29 pM with HCG. These results suggest that vascularization of the corpus luteum is induced by HCG-mediated effects of VEGF/VPF.