The mechanism of the formation of a circadian rhythm of bone marrow proliferation in rats]

Flow cytofluorimetry and statmokinetic method were used to study the circadian rhythm of bone marrow proliferation in Pliss' lymphosarcoma-bearing and intact rats. These data were compared to those obtained in the study of the mitotic activity of the bone marrow in cancer patients. It was found that, already at early stage, tumor affected the circadian rhythm of bone marrow proliferation, reducing the amplitude of oscillations. A model simulating formation of the circadian rhythm of the bone marrow was suggested basing on the possibility to arrest cells at the end of G1 phase. The rate of transition of G1 cells to S phase was determined not only by endogenous "set-points" of the rhythm which formed the basic wave of proliferation but also by conditions of animal upkeep.     

Patient education: a potential marketing tool for the private physician

To keep pace with increasing competition, the private physician is encouraged to consider a patient education program as a marketing tool. Meeting the educational needs of patients is presented as an opportunity to create a trusting environment in the practice, enhance the doctor-patient relationship, and increase the active role of the patient in the health care process. A management model is proposed for successfully planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling the patient education program.     

Dolichol-bound oligosaccharides and the transfer of distal monosaccharides in the synthesis of glycoproteins by normal and tumor mammary epithelial cells

Summary The main dolichol diphosphate-bound oligosaccharides present in primary cultures of both normal and tumor mouse mammary epithelial cells had the same size, yielded the same pattern after acetolysis and paper chromatography, had the same number of mannose residues susceptible to-mannosidase degradation, and were composed of the same monosaccharide residues. This is the first demonstration that normal and tumor mammary cells have dolichol diphosphate-bound oligosaccharides with very similar, if not identical, structures. These compounds are intermediates in the synthesis of asparagine-linked oligosaccharides. On the other hand, normal and tumor cells showed differences in the specific activities of the enzymes involved in the transfer of the distal monosaccharides from the sugar nucleotides to glycoproteins. Sialyl- and fucosyl-transferases were elevated and galactosyl- and N-acetylglucosaminyltransferases were diminished in mammary tumor cells. The intact tumor cells showed an increased fucosylation of glycoproteins of the asparagine-linkage type. Address for reprints: Roberto L. Ceriani, M.D., Ph.D., Bruce Lyon Memorial Research Laboratory, Children's Hospital Medical Center, 51st and Grove Streets, Oakland, CA 94609, USA.     

Infectome: A platform to trace infectious triggers of autoimmunity

The “exposome” is a term recently used to describe all environmental factors, both exogenous and endogenous, which we are exposed to in a lifetime. It represents an important tool in the study of autoimmunity, complementing classical immunological research tools and cutting-edge genome wide association studies (GWAS). Recently, environmental wide association studies (EWAS) investigated the effect of environment in the development of diseases. Environmental triggers are largely subdivided into infectious and non-infectious agents. In this review, we introduce the concept of the “infectome”, which is the part of the exposome referring to the collection of an individual's exposures to infectious agents. The infectome directly relates to geoepidemiological, serological and molecular evidence of the co-occurrence of several infectious agents associated with autoimmune diseases that may provide hints for the triggering factors responsible for the pathogenesis of autoimmunity. We discuss the implications that the investigation of the infectome may have for the understanding of microbial/host interactions in autoimmune diseases with long, pre-clinical phases. It may also contribute to the concept of the human body as a superorganism where the microbiome is part of the whole organism, as can be seen with mitochondria which existed as microbes prior to becoming organelles in eukaryotic cells of multicellular organisms over time. A similar argument can now be made in regard to normal intestinal flora, living in symbiosis within the host. We also provide practical examples as to how we can characterise and measure the totality of a disease-specific infectome, based on the experimental approaches employed from the “immunome” and “microbiome” projects.     

The impact of policy on hospital productivity: a time series analysis of Dutch hospitals

The health care industry, in particular the hospital industry, is under an increasing degree of pressure, by an ageing population, advancing expensive medical technology a shrinking labor. The pressure on hospitals is further increased by the planned budget cuts in public spending by many current administrations as a result of the economic and financial crises. However, productivity increases may alleviate these problems. Therefore we study whether productivity in the hospital sector is growing, and whether this productivity growth can be influenced by government policy. Using an econometric time series analysis of the hospital sector in the Netherlands, productivity is estimated for the period 1972–2010. Then, productivity is linked to the different regulation regimes during that period, ranging from output funding in the 1970s to the current liberalized hospital market. The results indicate that the average productivity of the hospital sector in different periods differs and that these differences are related to the structure of regulation in those periods.     

Anti-Fertility Effects of Different Fractions of Anethum Graveolens L. Extracts on Female Rats

Our previous studies showed the effects of aqueous and ethanol extracts of Anethum graveolens L. (dill) on female infertility. In the present study we investigated whether different fractions of this herb extract can cause infertility in rats. Female rats were divided into the control groups, the groups receiving either a low (0.5 g/kg)) or a high dose (5g/kg) of water, N-butanol, chloroform and ether fractions of the aqueous plant extract, and the groups receiving either a low (0.045 g/kg) or a high dose (0.45 g/kg) of the same fractions of ethanol extract. The mentioned doses were gavaged in 1mL for 10 days. Vaginal smears were prepared daily. Estradiol and progesterone levels were measured. The left oviduct and ovary were removed, their tissue subsequently being prepared in form of histology slides and stained using haematoxylin-eosin and Masson''s trichrome. Female rats assigned to each group were mated with males; after that, crown-rump lengths and weights of newborn rats were measured. Results showed that each fraction produced some changes such as hormonal level reduction (chloroform fraction), diestrus phase prolongation and infertility (water fraction), and increase in pregnancy duration (chloroform and ether fractions). We concluded that each fraction comprises only some of the mentioned components and therefore recommended the usage of crude extract, especially the aqueous one, in case infertility aims to be induced.