Compulsive Conditioned Sexual Responding of Male Japanese Quail in Extinction

Archives of Sexual Behavior - Previous experiments showed that following acquisition of an association between a terry-cloth object conditioned stimulus (CS) and a live female unconditioned...     

Vitreoretinal toxicity of basic fibroblast growth factor

Basic fibroblast growth factor (b-FGF) is one of the multifunctional growth factors with important therapeutic potential in the field of ophthalmology. It is also implicated in pathogenesis of vitreoretinal proliferative diseases. In the present study, we evaluated its vitreoretinal toxicity by means of clinical observation, electroretinography (ERG), and histopathology after injection of different doses of b-FGF into the vitreous of rabbit eyes. Doses of b-FGF up to 2 g per eye caused no toxicity; however, injection of 4 g or more resulted in sight-threatening vitreoretinal proliferative changes. This information is important for studies aimed at evaluating the therapeutic potential of b-FGF in retinal diseases.Despite some degree of vitreous organization and opacification, retinal folds, and small areas of traction retinal detachment, the amplitudes of ERGs were normal or even increased (hyperpolarization) in eyes which received 8 g of b-FGF.     

Corrigendum

Corrigendum

Corrigendum     

Modeling the cost of management options for stage I nonseminomatous germ cell tumors: a decision tree analysis.

PURPOSE: Patients with clinical stage I nonseminomatous germ cell tumors (NSGCTs) have been managed with surveillance, chemotherapy, or retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy (RPLND) with similar survival outcomes. Cost factors influencing the choice of therapy were evaluated using computer-based decision analysis. METHODS: A detailed model was developed that integrates projected costs for more than 60 possible treatment outcomes. It incorporates primary, adjuvant, and salvage chemotherapy, primary and post-chemotherapy RPLND, and both laparoscopic and open surgical approaches. Starting values and probabilities were derived from a comprehensive meta-analysis of the last 25 years of testes cancer literature. Hypothesis testing was performed using sensitivity analysis. RESULTS: The model predicts a cost premium for both primary chemotherapy (18.7%) and RPLND (51.7%) compared with surveillance. If laparoscopic RPLND was practiced, the cost premium for primary surgery (29.1%) approached that of chemotherapy (26.4%). Open RPLND was 1.25x as costly as laparoscopic RPLND, primarily because of longer hospitalization. The choice of open RPLND yielded a 6.9% cost premium for a surveillance program in this model. For such a program, primary chemotherapy became cost advantageous when the probability of recurrence during surveillance was more than 46%. CONCLUSION: This model allows a variety of treatment cost hypotheses to be tested. Primary RPLND is never cost advantageous over surveillance or primary chemotherapy. Surgical costs can significantly increase the overall cost of a surveillance program. In stage I patients with high-risk tumor characteristics, primary chemotherapy may have a cost advantage over surveillance.     

Nickel sensitivity in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease

Objective: Various foods play important role in the pathogenesis of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). These foods are shown to increase gastroesophageal reflux symptoms via various mechanisms and majority of these foods also contain nickel. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between Nickel sensitivity and GERD.

Material and methods: Fifty-four patients diagnosed with GERD and 50 healthy volunteers who were admitted to our gastroenterology outpatient clinic were took part in the study. European standard patch test series, nickel-containing test units and corticosteroids were applied to the patient body; upper back. Evaluation was performed according to the scheme of the International Contact Dermatitis Research Group (ICDRG). The positive and negative reactions were recorded at the hours of 48, 72 and 96. Following the test implementations, 7?days later, the tests were reevaluated for late reactions. Statistics package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 17 package program was used for statistical evaluation and results of tests were compared between groups with the Chi-squared test. p?Results: Individuals in both groups were statistically similar in terms of age and gender. Nickel sensitivity was found to be positive in 48.2 and %22 of the GERD patients and control group, respectively. Difference between groups was statistically significant (p?=?0.008).

Conclusions: Nickel sensitivity was significantly higher in GERD patients compared to the control group. In addition to imbalance between defensive and aggressive forces of the esophagus, there seems to be an association between nickel sensitivity and GERD.     

Novel bis-crown ethers and their sodium complexes as antimicrobial agent: synthesis and spectroscopic characterizations

A series of new compounds containing formyl and imine group were synthesized. New formyl-substituted compounds were prepared by the reaction of 1,2-bis(bromomethyl)benzene with benzaldehyde derivatives in the presence of NaOH. New bis-crown ether imine compounds were prepared by the condensation of corresponding aldehydes with 4′-aminobenzo-15-crown-5. Sodium complexes of the bis-crown ethers form crystalline 2:1 (Na⁺:ligand) stoichiometries were also been synthesized. The prepared compounds were structurally confirmed by analytical and spectral data and evaluated for their antibacterial and antifungal activities. The results show that the antibacterial activity of compounds including o-methoxy group was significantly higher against S. epidermis compared to the other studied antimicrobial group.