In vitro inhibition of human leukemic cells (CCRF-CEM) by agarose-immobilized neocarzinostatin.

Neocarzinostatin (NCS) is an acidic protein (molecular weight, 10,700) isolated from Streptomyces carzinostaticus that has antitumor activity both in model rodent systems and in humans. In vitro it inhibits the growth of a human lymphoblastic leukemic cell line (CCRF-CEM) at a very low concentration (the amount of drug that causes a 50% inhibition of growth compared to control cultures as extrapolated from a dose-response curve (ID50), 2.4 X 10(-9) M). We covalently coupled NCS to the N-hydroxysuccinimide ester of agarose and obtained a product that, by a variety of biochemical and immunological criteria, has been demonstrated to be devoid of any free or loosely bound NCS. Agarose-bound NCS, which is unable to enter cells because of its size, retains a significant amount of inhibitory activity (ID50, 6 to 15 X 10(-9) M) and is also capable of inhibiting tritiated deoxythymidine incorporation into CCRF-CEM cells. Since agarose-bound NCS cannot enter mammalian cells, the above findings indicate that NCS is able to exert its toxic effects by binding to or reacting with receptors on the cell membrane.     

Quantitation of esophageal transit by means of 81mKr

A method for quantifying esophageal transit by means of ^81mKr is described. The principal advantage of ^81mKr compared with ^99mTc is its ultra-short half-life with its consequences on radiation dose and counting statistics. Factors which may influence the esophageal transit time such as body posture, volume of the tracer, and the nature of the tracer were studied. The reproducibility of the technique is quite good and its capacity to detect minor esophageal transit disorders is demonstrated.     

An educational approach to leprosy control: an evaluation of knowledge, attitudes and practice in two poor localities in Bombay, India.

Based on the hypothesis that a systematic, carefully planned educational approach to leprosy would yield results in terms of knowledge, attitudes and case presentation superior to those of the established and traditional mass survey method, ALERT-India launched a programme in S ward of Bombay in February 1985, to compare the two. An intensive programme of health education, using trained teams, was carried out in one zone of this ward over a period of 12 months. Eight months later, mass survey work (as used routinely in previous years and on a country-wide basis) was carried out in an adjacent zone. In 1987, the Centre for Social and Technological Change in Bombay, in association with the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, was requested to evaluate the effect of the above educational approach in terms of knowledge, attitudes and practice in both the trial and control zones. Other aspects of this experimental approach, including its cost and effectiveness in identifying cases of leprosy, will be published separately. The design of the 'KAP' evaluation and the social and environmental controls introduced in the statistical analysis are described. The results pointed to a considerable degree of ignorance about leprosy as a disease (and its treatment) in both the study and the control zones. Knowledge about early symptoms was particularly weak and on all aspects scores for women were invariably lower than men. General education enhanced the absorption of specific knowledge, and the education of children compensated adequately for lack of parental education in this respect. Overall the evaluation indicated that the intensive educational approach was superior to the survey approach in terms of improving knowledge, attitudes and practice.     

Partial epilepsy in children in Algeria. Electroclinical and tomodensitometric study

The authors report the results of an electroclinical and tomographic study of 145 cases of partial epilepsy in children. Without advancing any views on etiology or symptomatologic classification, they analyse the various prognoses on the basis of case history, clinical aspects, symptomatology of seizures, EEG and tomographic signs. None of these factors in isolation appears to determine the prognosis of epilepsy. A significant percentage of apparently idiopathic epilepsies may develop adversely whereas half of the cases show a good prognosis.     

An approach to estimate between- and within-group correlation coefficients in multicenter studies: plasma carotenoids as biomarkers of intake of fruits and vegetables

In a multicenter study, the overall correlation between two variables can be broken down into a within- and a between-group correlation reflecting associations at the individual and aggregate levels, respectively. A random-effects model is used to estimate variance components of nutrition-related variables and the within- and between-group correlation coefficients. Using data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), the authors analyzed the association between levels of three plasma carotenoids (alpha-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, and lycopene) and dietary intake of three items (total fruits, carrots, and tomatoes), assessed through dietary questionnaire and single 24-hour dietary recall measurements, in a cross-sectional study involving 3,089 subjects from nine European countries. Intraclass correlation coefficients were 0.178 for alpha-carotene, 0.216 for beta-cryptoxanthin, and 0.299 for lycopene. The between-group correlation coefficients were higher than the within-group coefficients for all three carotenoids. For beta-cryptoxanthin and fruit intake, the between-group versus the within-group correlations were 0.78 and 0.26 for the dietary questionnaire and 0.85 and 0.19 for the 24-hour dietary recall. Results indicate that variability of exposure is driven mainly by the individual compared with the aggregate variation and that biomarker levels perform fairly accurately in discriminating population-level consumption of fruits and vegetables.     

Clinico-pathologic findings in medullary cystic kidney disease type 2

Medullary cystic kidney disease type 2 is an uncommon autosomal dominant condition characterized by juvenile onset hyperuricemia, precocious gout and chronic renal failure progressing to end-stage renal disease in the 4th through 7th decades of life. A family suffering from this condition is described. The patient in the index case presented with renal insufficiency as a child. A renal biopsy revealed tubular atrophy, and immunohistochemical staining of the tissue for uromodulin (Tamm Horsfall protein) revealed dense deposits in renal tubular cells. Genetic testing revealed a single nucleotide mutation (c.899G>A) resulting in an exchange of a cysteine residue for tyrosine (C300Y). Medullary cystic kidney disease type 2 (also known as uromodulin-associated kidney disease) likely represents a form of endoplasmic reticulum storage disease, with deposition of the abnormal uromodulin protein in the endoplasmic reticulum, leading to tubular cell atrophy and death.     

Beneficial Effects of Humidified,Warmed Carbon Dioxide Insufflation during Laparoscopic Bariatric Surgery: a Randomized Clinical Trial

Background: Recent data has shown that the use of warmed, humidified carbon dioxide (CO₂) insufflation during laparoscopic surgery may be associated with better outcomes. Methods: We performed a randomized, doubleblind, prospective controlled clinical trial of 30 patients undergoing laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGBP). Patients were randomized into 2 groups. The first group (group 1, n=15) received standard (dry, room temperature) CO₂ for insufflation during the surgery, while the second group (group 2, n=15) received warmed (35°C) and humidified (95%) CO₂. Patients received postoperative analgesia from morphine delivered via a patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pump. Pain scores (on a scale of 0 to 10, 0 being no pain and 10 being the worst pain) were measured postoperatively at 3 h, 6 h, 1 day and 2 days. The amount of morphine that was delivered through the PCA was also measured at the same time intervals. Operating-room (OR) time, core temperature, and total hospital length of stay were documented. Results: Postoperative pain as documented by pain scores and narcotic usage were not statistically different in the 2 groups. We demonstrated a statistically significant difference (mean±SD) in OR time (76±16 min vs 101±34 min, P=0.02), total hospital length of stay (3.2±.4 days vs 4.0±.9 days, P=0.01) and end-of-case core temperature (36.2±.5°C vs 35.7±.6°C, P=0.02) in group 2 compared with group 1. Conclusion: The use of warmed, humidified CO₂ insufflation in bariatric patients undergoing LRYGBP was not associated with any significant benefit with regards to postoperative pain.     

Dietary patterns among older Europeans: the EPIC-Elderly study

Overall dietary patterns have been associated with health and longevity. We used principal component (PC) and cluster analyses to identify the prevailing dietary patterns of 99 744 participants, aged 60 years or older, living in nine European countries and participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Elderly cohort) and to examine their socio-demographic and lifestyle correlates. Two PC were identified: PC1 reflects a 'vegetable-based' diet with an emphasis on foods of plant origin, rice, pasta and other grain rather than on margarine, potatoes and non-alcoholic beverages. PC2 indicates a 'sweet- and fat-dominated' diet with a preference for sweets, added fat and dairy products but not meat, alcohol, bread and eggs. PC1 was associated with a younger age, a higher level of education, physical activity, a higher BMI, a lower waist:hip ratio and never and past smoking. PC2 was associated with older age, less education, never having smoked, a lower BMI and waist:hip ratio and lower levels of physical activity. Elderly individuals in southern Europe scored positively on PC1 and about zero on PC2, whereas the elderly in northern Europe scored negatively on PC1 and variably on PC2. The results of cluster analysis were compatible with the indicated dietary patterns. 'Vegetable-based' and a 'sweet- and fat-dominated' diets are prevalent among the elderly across Europe, and there is a north-south gradient regarding their dietary choices. Our study contributes to the identification of groups of elderly who are likely to have different prospects for long-term disease occurrence and survival.     

2, 3-Bis(5-alkyl-2-thiono-1, 3, 5-thiadiazin-3-yl) propionic acid: one-pot domino synthesis and antimicrobial activity

In a search for promising antibacterial and antifungal compounds, two new series of 2, 3-bis(5-alkyl-2-thiono-1, 3, 5-thiadiazin-3-yl)propionic acid 1 and their corresponding N, N-dimethylpropionamide 6 have been synthesized. The reaction of 2, 3-diaminopropionate 3, carbon disulfide, formaldehyde, and the appropriate alkyl amines furnished the title compound 1. N, N-dimethylpropionamides 6 were obtained by the reaction of 1 with dimethyl amine in the presence of POCl(3). The newly prepared compounds were screened in vitro against certain strains of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and compared with nalidixic acid and ciprofloxacin. Moreover, the title compounds were tested for their antifungal activity in vitro against Candida albicans, phytopathogenic, Penicillum expansum and Trichoderma hazianum, and aflatoxin-producing Aspergillus flavus. These compounds exhibit varied activity against the tested pathogenic bacteria and remarkable inhibitory effects on growth or sporulation of some of the tested fungal species.     

Isothermal Crystallization of Poly(ε‐caprolactone) in Blend with Poly(styrene‐co‐acrylonitrile): Influence of Phase Separation Process

Summary: The isothermal crystallization process of poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL) and its blend with styrene‐acrylonitrile random copolymer containing 27.5 wt.‐% acrylonitrile has been investigated as a function of crystallization and melting temperatures for different melting times in the vicinity of the lowest critical solution temperature (LCST)‐type phase diagram using DSC. The obtained results showed that the isothermal crystallization kinetics from the melt of PCL in the blend was greatly affected by the presence of SAN. For a given crystallization temperature, the crystallization half time (t_0.5) in the case of PCL/SAN = 80/20 blend was much longer than the corresponding value for pure PCL. This depression in the crystallization kinetics of PCL in the blend was mainly attributed to the favorable interaction between the two components and the reduction in chain mobility as a result of increasing the T_g by adding the amorphous component (SAN). In addition, the value of t_0.5 was found to be independent of the melting temperature (T_m) and melting time for pure PCL. The isothermal crystallization kinetics for samples that were crystallized after decomposition into different stages of phase separation were also investigated. A major acceleration in the crystallization kinetics was observed isothermally for the samples that had undergone phase separation in the early and middle stages. The isothermal crystallization kinetics was also analyzed based on the Avrami approach. Although the crystallization kinetics was accelerated to a great extent by the liquid‐liquid phase separation, no change in the crystallization mechanism could be predicted. Furthermore, the phase separation process of PCL/SAN blend has been studied indirectly by following the variation in t_0.5 at different melting temperatures and melting times above the LCST phase diagram.

Melting temperature, T_m, dependence of crystallization half time, t_0.5.