Chemical structure of plasticizers,compatibility of components and phase equilibrium in plasticized cellulose diacetate

The phase equilibrium of plasticized polymer systems on the basis of cellulose diacetate and ethylene glycol esters of dibasic aliphatic acids (from oxalic acid to 1,10-decanedicarboxylic acid) was studied and the solubility parameters and the thermodynamic interaction parameters of the components were calculated. It is shown that an increase in molecular weight of the plasticizers leads to a lower miscibility of the components, a fact which is reflected in a regular rise of the upper critical solution temperature (UCST), a tendency of the systems for gelation, a decrease of the solubility parameter of the plasticizer δ₁, and a growth of the interaction parameters χ_H and χ₁₂. The results are discussed in terms of the existing theories for polymer solutions.     

Immunology

A selection of interesting papers that were published in the two months before our press date in major journals most likely to report significant results in immunology.     

不同膳食特点地区中老年人血红蛋白及其与膳食营养的关系

测定分析不同膳食特点地区975例年龄45～74岁中老年人的血红蛋白及其与膳食营养素的关系。结果牧民及城市居民贫血率低，北京及新疆托里分别为7.6％和4.6％。男性比女性血红蛋白高，血红蛋白随年龄增加而降低。相关分析结果血红蛋白与膳食热能、蛋白质、动物蛋白质与总蛋白质比值呈显著正相关。结果说明血红蛋白可用于中老年人营养状态监测。     

Neuroendocrine and clinical effects of transdermal 17β-estradiol in postmenopausal women

The neuroendocrine and clinical effects of transdermal 17β-estradiol (rated at 50 μg/day; TTS 50) were studied in 40 postmenopausal women; ten additional postmenopausal women did not receive any drugs. The changes in LH and rectal temperature induced by the infusion of the opioid antagonist naloxone (10 mg i.v. bolus plus 10 mg/h for 4 h) were used to evaluate the central activity of endogenous opioid peptides. TTS 50 increased opioid activity, as evidenced by the restoration of the LH response (P < 0.01) and the enhancement of the hypothermic effect (P < 0.05) of naloxone. A greater reduction in hot flushes was observed in TTS 50-treated subjects than in untreated women, with the maximal effect of TTS 50 achieved after 3 months of therapy. TTS 50 did not modify the concentrations of circulating lipids, glucose or liver enzymes but reduced the biochemical parameters indicative of bone reabsorption. Bone density of the distal radius significantly increased during TTS 50 (P < 0.02), reaching its maximum value after 6 months of therapy. Thereafter bone density declined, but more slowly than in untreated women.

Our data suggest that TTS 50 has marked neuroendocrine effects, that it diminishes the incidence of hot flushes and reduces bone demineralization. By contrast, it has a very little, if any, metabolic impact on the liver or on glucose and lipid metabolism.     

Can bone metabolism markers be adopted as an alternative to scintigraphic imaging in monitoring bone metastases from breast cancer?

Bone scintigraphy plays a major role in the diagnosis of bone metastases. The clinical utility of new biochemical markers of bone metabolism has recently been investigated in various bone diseases. This study evaluated the role of some bone metabolism markers in comparison with bone scan in the follow-up of breast cancer patients. We studied 149 patients with breast cancer, 33 (22%) of whom had bone metastases. IRMAs were used for the evaluation of blood levels of osteocalcin, bone alkaline phosphatase (BAP), the C-terminal propeptide of type I procollagen and the C-terminal cross-linked telopeptide of type I collagen (ICTP). Multivariate regression analysis showed that menopausal status (P=0.007) and metastatic bone lesions (P=0.001) affected bone marker levels. When considering post-menopausal women, the only subset in which bone metabolism marker behaviour could be reliably investigated, we found a high degree of overlap in marker distribution for scan-positive and scan-negative patients. Discrimination between scan-negative and scan-positive patients based on the above markers, taken singly or jointly, was assessed by means of logistic discriminant analysis. The best discrimination was achieved with BAP, closely followed by ICTP. BAP and ICTP together gave a slight improvement over the use of the two markers separately. However, even in this case the degree of discrimination was poor and its clinical utility was limited. In fact, to achieve a specificity of 95%, the sensitivity of the test was about 20%; conversely, with a sensitivity of 95%, the specificity was below 10%. In conclusion, based on our findings, we believe that blood levels of the investigated markers cannot replace bone scintigraphy in the follow-up of breast cancer patients for the early detection of bone metastases. Received 14 April and in revised form 5 July 1997     

Bicycle Helmet Wearing in Children: A Seven-Year, Observational Study in Broward County, Florida

We evaluated the effectiveness of statewide bicycle legislation using direct observation of the number of elementary and middle school children riding bicycles with and without helmets to or from school over a 7-year period. The percentage of children wearing helmets increased dramatically over the past 7 years (to a high of 81%) due to the passage of state law that required helmet usage. Rates for elementary school children were consistently higher than rates of middle school children. Numerous children still do not wear helmets, particularly older children. Further interventions are needed to promote helmet wearing.     

Corticotropin-Releasing Factor Reduces Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Pulmonary Vascular Leak

Previous studies have suggested that corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) has immunoregulatory effects in addition to its neuroendocrine role. We examined the ability of CRF to inhibit lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced pulmonary vascular leak in vivo. Female BALB/C mice were treated with either normal saline (NS) or CRF prior to injection with LPS. Pulmonary vascular leak was inhibited by CRF as assessed by measurement of lung wet-to-dry ratios. The stress-induced increase in serum corticosterone levels in mice injected with LPS alone was not further increased by treatment with CRF. This indicates that the effect of CRF was not mediated centrally by stimulation of endogenous steroid release. Histologic examination of the lungs revealed that leukocyte infiltration was significantly depressed in CRF-treated mice thus confirming the protective effect of CRF. In addition, a modest prolongation of survival was demonstrated in CRF-treated mice following challenge with LPS (p=.08). These data indicate the potential utility of CRF as a modulator of pulmonary vascular leak.     

Executive cognitive deficits in primary dystonia.

Primary dystonia is a disorder of movement for which no consistent pathophysiology has been identified; in the absence of evidence to the contrary, it is assumed to be cognitively benign. We have studied a clinically heterogeneous group of 14 patients with primary dystonia on a battery of neuropsychological tests. Despite well-preserved speed of information processing, language, spatial, memory and general intellectual skills relative to normal controls, we have identified a constellation of attentional-executive cognitive deficits on the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB). Specifically, patients demonstrated significant difficulties negotiating the extra-dimensional set-shifting phase of the IED task. The implications of these findings for the pathophysiology of primary dystonia are discussed. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first report of a significant cognitive deficit in patients with primary dystonia.     

Dystonia gravidarum: a new case with a long follow-up.

We report a case of cervical dystonia occurring in a 33-year-old without personal history of movement disorder but with family history of essential tremor, primigravid, primiparous woman at 1 weeks' amenorrhea, resolved completely after delivery in the course of 3 months. Dystonia never recurred in the following 5 years. Several neurological disorders are known to occur or worsen during pregnancy. As far as we know, this is the second reported case of dystonia occurring during pregnancy, thus confirming that dystonia gravidarum represents a new entity and should be considered in women of reproductive age affected by dystonia, especially when presenting with rapid-onset cervical dystonia.