Fumonisin B1 dosimetry in relation to cancer initiation in rat liver

The wrong EDL values were given in the thirteenth line of theAbstract. The complete sentence should read: Over a period of 14 days the amount of FB₁ required for cancerinitiation is 23.3 < EDL < 33.3 mg FB₁/100 g body wt.     

Sources of antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity deficiency in young pig leukocytes.

Antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) activity against pseudorabies virus-infected target cells has been found to be lower in young pig peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs) than in adults. Experiments were designed to investigate the reason(s) for low activity in the young, which are more at risk of fatal infection than adults. The percentage of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs), the major ADCC effector cell, in the whole leukocyte population did not have a bearing on the deficiency. Enrichment for PMNs did not alleviate differences in activity between young and adult pigs. Additionally, no suppressor cell(s) or factor(s) could be demonstrated to account for the ADCC deficiency. The source of the ADCC deficiency in the young was found to be related to the decreased ability of young pig effector cells to bind antibody-sensitized targets. This deficiency relative to adults was associated with decreased antibody binding to high affinity Fc receptors on young pig neutrophils.     

Salmonella myonecrosis in a patient with diabetes mellitus

Bacterial myonecrosis is a medical and surgical emergency and prompt surgical intervention is critically important. A variety of microorganisms have been isolated from patients with necrotizing soft-tissue infections. These infections are frequently polymicrobial in etiology, but occasionally a single microorganism is isolated. This report describes a case of crepitant myonecrosis from infection with Salmonella serogroup B.     

Komplikationen nach arthroskopischer Rotatorenmanschettennaht

Rotator cuff tears are increasingly treated arthroscopically, preferentially with suture anchors since a stable anchorage in bone is possible, simple and rapid. However, the restricted view, especially with longer operating times, conceals a danger of misplacement. Such risks can be determined rapidly with experience and should be corrected as soon as possible, e.g. through a change to open procedures. In our case report, the migration of a metal anchor could be corrected in a later operation and a revision of the re-rupture was then carried out using mini-open technique.     

Chest wall kinematics and respiratory muscle action in ankylosing spondylitis patients.

No direct measurements of the pressures produced by the ribcage muscles, the diaphragm and the abdominal muscles during hyperventilation have been reported in patients with ankylosing spondylitis. Based on recent evidence indicating that abdominal muscles are important contributors to stimulation of ventilation, it was hypothesised that, in ankylosing spondylitis patients with limited ribcage expansion, a respiratory centre strategy to help the diaphragm function may involve coordinated action of this muscle with abdominal muscles. In order to validate this hypothesis, the chest wall response to a hypercapnic/hyperoxic rebreathing test was assessed in six ankylosing spondylitis patients and seven controls by combined analysis of: 1) chest wall kinematics, using optoelectronic plethysmography, this system is accurate in partitioning chest wall expansion into the contributions of the ribcage and the abdomen; and 2) respiratory muscle pressures, oesophageal, gastric and transdiaphragmatic (Pdi); the pressure/volume relaxation characteristics of both the ribcage and the abdomen allowed assessment of the peak pressure of both inspiratory and expiratory ribcage muscles, and of the abdominal muscles. During rebreathing, chest wall expansion increased to a similar extent in patients to that in controls; however, the abdominal component increased more and the ribcage component less in patients. Peak inspiratory ribcage, but not abdominal, muscle pressure was significantly lower in patients than in controls. End-inspiratory Pdi increased similarly in both groups, whereas inspiratory swings in Pdi increased significantly only in patients. No pressure or volume signals correlated with disease severity. The diaphragm and abdominal muscles help to expand the chest wall in ankylosing spondylitis patients, regardless of the severity of their disease. This finding supports the starting hypothesis that a coordinated response of respiratory muscle activity optimises the efficiency of the thoracoabdominal compartment in conditions of limited ribcage expansion.     

Psychiatrische Notfälle

Pre-clinical psychiatric emergency situations (PES) have been identified to be the third major reason for emergency physician (EP) calls with a frequency of approximately 10%. Until now, there are no investigations about regional differences between urban and rural regions in frequencies, diagnoses, or treatment necessities of PES. A retrospective analysis of all anonymised EP protocols of one year in a metropolitan (Hamburg) and a rural region (Schaumburg County) was performed with the same methodological approach. In both regions, the frequency of PES was revealed to be near 10%. Gender and age of psychiatric patients as well as reasons for calls were comparable. In Schaumburg County, much less disturbances due to illegal drugs were observed. However, more patients had to be treated because of suicide attempts and alcoholism. All in all, disturbances seemed less life-threatening than in the metropolitan region. In conclusion, frequency and kind of PES do not differ substantially between rural and urban regions. Considering the prevalence of PES, the particularities in diagnosis and treatment and the dissipation of institutionalised psychiatric care mainly in rural regions, more training in psychiatric subjects is needed.