Effect of transection in the brainstem on short-term maintenance of deoxycorticosterone-salt hypertension

Sections were made to determine supraspinal areas that participate in the maintenance of deoxycorticosterone (DOC)-salt hypertension. Blood pressure (BP) falls after cuts which severed: (a) the lateral connections between pons and midbrain, (b) the pathways between caudal hypothalamus and midbrain, and (c) parasagittal between medial and lateral hypothalamus. No changes in BP were found either after coronal cuts that severed a central area located at: (a) the pons-midbrain edge, (b) above the caudal hypothalamus, and (c) the level of the anterior hypothalamic area, or after parasagittal cuts at the level of the capsula interna or after a hypophysial stalk lesion. These results implicate the hypothalamus in the maintenance of DOC-salt hypertension. The hypothalamus-neural lobe system appears not to be involved in the lowering of BP found.     

Sonographic measurement of the umbilical cord and fetal anthropometric parameters.

OBJECTIVE: To determine reference ranges for the diameter and the cross-sectional area of the umbilical cord during pregnancy and to determine if umbilical cord morphometry is related to fetal size. METHODS: A prospective cross-sectional study was designed to assess the sonographic cross-sectional diameter and area of the umbilical cord. The sonographic umbilical cord measurements were obtained in a plane adjacent to the insertion of the cord into the fetal abdomen. Nomograms for the umbilical cord diameter and area were computed. Fetal biometry included: biparietal diameter, abdominal circumference, and femur length. Polynomial regression analysis was conducted. RESULTS: Five hundred and fifty seven patients were included into the study. The regression equation for the umbilical cord diameter (y) according to gestational age (x) was y=-10.0563+1.4265x+0.0194x2 and for the umbilical cord area (y') was y'=91.6-3.3x+0.03x2-0.00007x3. A significant relationship was found between umbilical cord measurements and fetal anthropometric parameters. CONCLUSION: Reference ranges for umbilical cord diameter and area have been generated. The sonographic diameter and cross-sectional area of the umbilical cord increase as a function of gestational age and both diameter and area correlate with fetal size.     

Fitness levels of middle aged martial art practitioners

OBJECTIVES: To quantify and compare fitness levels of middle aged practitioners of soo bahk do (SBD; a Korean martial art similar to karate) with those of sedentary subjects. METHODS: Eighteen volunteers, 14 men and four women (aged 40-60 years), participated. Nine sedentary subjects (mean age 46.7 years) and nine SBD practitioners (mean age 46.8 years) were matched for sex and age. All subjects participated in a one day battery of fitness tests. The following dependent variables were tested: body composition, balance, flexibility, quadriceps strength, grip strength, muscle endurance, and aerobic capacity. RESULTS: All dependent variables were analysed using paired t tests. Body composition (% body fat) for the SBD group was 18.9% v 30.8% for the sedentary group (p = 0.004). The SBD group was able to balance for 61.8 seconds v 26.2 seconds for the sedentary group (p = 0.02). The result for the sit and reach flexibility test was 22.3 cm for the SBD group v 10.4 cm for the sedentary group (p = 0.01). The number of push ups performed in one minute was 47.0 for the SBD group v 18.6 for the sedentary group (p = 0.0003), and the number of sit ups performed was 66.1 for the SBD group and 37.3 for the sedentary group (p = 0.00006). Aerobic capacity was 41.0 ml/kg/min v 31.1 ml/kg/min for the sedentary group (p = 0.04). Quadriceps strength was 99.5% (peak torque/body weight) v 83.0% for the sedentary group (p = 0.02). Only grip strength was not significantly different. CONCLUSIONS: There were significant differences between the groups for most of the physical fitness tests. The SBD practitioners displayed greater aerobic capacity, balance, flexibility, muscle endurance, and strength, and less body fat than the sedentary controls matched for age and sex. SBD can be considered an excellent form of exercise for the promotion of fitness in adults. Health professionals should be aware that there are alternative methods to traditional exercise that can increase the physical fitness and health of the middle aged population.     

Synthesis of melanin-like pigments by Sporothrix schenckii in vitro and during mammalian infection

Melanin has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several important human fungal pathogens. Existing data suggest that the conidia of the dimorphic fungal pathogen Sporothrix schenckii produce melanin or melanin-like compounds; in this study we aimed to confirm this suggestion and to demonstrate in vitro and in vivo production of melanin by yeast cells. S. schenckii grown on Mycosel agar produced visibly pigmented conidia, although yeast cells grown in brain heart infusion and minimal medium broth appeared to be nonpigmented macroscopically. However, treatment of both conidia and yeast cells with proteolytic enzymes, denaturant, and concentrated hot acid yielded dark particles similar in shape and size to the corresponding propagules, which were stable free radicals consistent with identification as melanins. Melanin particles extracted from S. schenckii yeast cells were used to produce a panel of murine monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) which labeled pigmented conidia, yeast cells, and the isolated particles. Tissue from hamster testicles infected with S. schenckii contained fungal cells that were labeled by melanin-binding MAbs, and digestion of infected hamster tissue yielded dark particles that were also reactive. Additionally, sera from humans with sporotrichosis contained antibodies that bound melanin particles. These findings indicate that S. schenckii conidia and yeast cells can produce melanin or melanin-like compounds in vitro and that yeast cells can synthesize pigment in vivo. Since melanin is an important virulence factor in other pathogenic fungi, this pigment may have a similar role in the pathogenesis of sporotrichosis.     

Post-therapy pathologic stage and survival in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiation

BACKGROUND:

Neoadjuvant chemoradiation before surgery is an emerging treatment modality for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). However, analysis of prognostic factors is limited for patients with PDAC treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiation and pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD).

METHODS:

The study population was comprised of 240 consecutive patients with PDAC who received neoadjuvant chemoradiation and PD and was compared with 60 patients who had no neoadjuvant therapy between 1999 and 2007. Clinicopathologic features were correlated with disease‐free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS).

RESULTS:

Among the 240 treated patients, the 1‐year and 3‐year DFS rates were 52% and 32%, with a median DFS of 15.1 months. The 1‐year and 3‐year OS rates were 95% and 47%, with a median OS of 33.5 months. By univariate analysis, DFS was associated with age, post‐therapy tumor stage (ypT), lymph node status (ypN), number of positive lymph nodes, and American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage, whereas OS was associated with intraoperative blood loss, margin status, ypT, ypN, number of positive lymph nodes, and AJCC stage. By multivariate analysis, DFS was independently associated with age, number of positive lymph nodes, and AJCC stage, and OS was independently associated with differentiation, margin status, number of positive lymph nodes, and AJCC stage. In addition, the treated patients had better OS and lower frequency of lymph node metastasis than those who had no neoadjuvant therapy.

CONCLUSIONS:

In patients with PDAC who received neoadjuvant chemoradiation and subsequent PD, post‐therapy pathologic AJCC stage and number of positive lymph nodes are independent prognostic factors. Cancer 2012. © 2011 American Cancer Society.     

An appraisal of the psychometric properties of the Clinician version of the Apathy Evaluation Scale (AES-C)

This article examines the psychometric properties of the clinician version of the Apathy Evaluation Scale (AES-C) to determine its ability to characterize, quantify and differentiate apathy. Critical appraisals of the item-reduction processes, effectiveness of the administration, coding and scoring procedures, and the reliability and validity of the scale were carried out. For training, administration and rating of the AES-C, clearer guidelines, including a more standardized list of verbal and non-verbal apathetic cues, are needed. There is evidence of high internal consistency for the scale across studies. In addition, the original study reported good test-retest and inter-rater reliability coefficients. However, there is a lack of replication on these more stable and informative measures of reliability and as such they warrant further investigation. The research evidence confirms that the AES-C shows good discriminant, convergent and criterion validity. However, evidence of its predictive validity is limited. As this aspect of validity refers to the scale's ability to predict future outcomes, which is important for treatment and rehabilitation planning, further assessment of the predictive validity of the AES-C is needed. In conclusion, the AES-C is a reliable and valid measure for the characterization and quantification of apathy.     

Photolytic degradation of benorylate: effects of the photoproducts on cultured hepatocytes

The photodegradation of benorylate [4'-(acetamido)phenyl-2-acetoxybenzoate], a drug frequently used in rheumatoid arthritis therapy, has been examined under different sets of experimental conditions. Several photoproducts have been isolated and identified on the basis of their IR, NMR, and MS spectra. The most significant photochemical process is the photo-Fries rearrangement of benorylate, leading to 5-acetamido-2'-acetoxy-2-hydroxybenzophenone (1). This compound undergoes a rapid transacylation to the isomeric 5'-acetamido-2'-acetoxy-2-hydroxybenzophenone (2). A primary culture of rat hepatocytes has been used to evaluate the possible toxicity of these two benzophenones, keeping in mind the following criteria: leakage of cytosolic enzymes, attachment index to culture plates, gluconeogenesis from lactate and fructose, glycogen balance, and albumin synthesis. At the concentrations assayed, neither of the two major photoproducts of benorylate (benzophenones 1 and 2) had significant toxic effects on liver cells in culture.     

Antigen-induced inhibition of human in vitro spontaneous IgE synthesis. I. Factors and kinetic studies.

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with hypersensitivity to L. perenne and D. pteronyssinus were incubated with specific antigen. They were then cultured for 7 days in the absence of antigen and the IgE contained in the supernatants was determined using an enzyme immunoassay (ELISA). Pre-incubation of the cells with antigen produced an inhibitory effect on the spontaneous IgE synthesis in most of the cases (101 of the 134 individual studied). This inhibition was more pronounced and more frequent in those cultures with an elevated spontaneous production of IgE (3,000-10,000 pg/ml). This effect depended on the dose of antigen and the duration of cell exposure. Both spontaneous IgE production kinetics and antigen-mediated inhibition were studied. A study of the IgE content of the cell pellets indicated that the antigen did not induce inhibition of the IgE release. We therefore believe that the inhibition observed must be due to some kind of IgE synthesis suppression.