Coronary artery calcifications: significance of incidental detection on CT scans

A scoring system was devised for the assessment of coronary artery calcifications apparent on computed tomographic (CT) scans, with width and length used to assess severity. The degree of calcification was compared with the presence of stenoses of 70% or greater at cardiac catheterization in 46 patients who underwent both studies. Although many significantly stenosed vessels showed no calcification, heavy calcifications had a high positive predictive value for significant disease. In a separate branch of the study, the perioperative cardiac morbidity and mortality were compared in 30 age- and sex-matched pairs of patients undergoing thoracotomy who did and did not have coronary calcifications on CT scans obtained before surgery. Patients with calcifications had a higher frequency of cardiac complications, including arrhythmias, ischemia, hypotension, myocardial infarction, and death.     

Formation of factor-independent hematopoietic multilineage colonies after Abelson virus infection

Yolk-sac-derived hematopoietic cells were infected with a helper-free stock of Abelson virus (A-MuLV). After infection, cells were plated in a clonogenic methylcellulose culture in the absence of exogenous growth factors such as interleukin 3 (IL 3) and erythropoietin (Epo). No colonies were observed in cultures without viral infection, whereas factor-independent colonies were consistently observed with virus- infected cultures. The number of colonies was linearly correlated with the number of cells plated. Erythroid-mix colonies consisting mostly of erythroblasts, macrophages, and mast cells could be observed. Tumorigenic, continuously growing mast cell lines could be generated at high frequency from these erythroid-mix colonies after they were initially passaged in the presence of an irradiated feeder layer for 4 to 8 weeks. Southern blot analysis of the DNA from five of these lines examined were all shown to contain integrated A-MuLV proviral DNA. These data are evidence that A-MuLV can directly infect embryonic multipotent hematopoietic progenitor cells and drive them to differentiate to various progeny cells without exogenous growth factors.     

Overall obesity and abdominal obesity and the risk of metabolic abnormalities

Background Obesity is a risk factor for multiple chronic diseases. Aim To determine the relationship between overall or abdominal obesity and various metabolic abnormalities. Methods The medical records of participants undergoing examination from January 2000 to December 2002 were analysed. Body mass index (BMI; kg/m²) for overall obesity and waist circumference (WC; cm) indicating abdominal obesity were measured. Four groups were studied: (1) BMI<27kg/m², WC: female<80cm or male<90cm; (2) BMI≥ 27kg/m², WC: female<80cm or male< 90cm; (3) BMI<27kg/m², WC: female ≥ 80cm or male = 90cm; (4) BMI≥ 27kg/m2, WC: female ≥ 80cm or male≥ 90cm. Results There were 1,342 (44%) females and 1,711 males aged 20–87 years. The prevalence of overall obesity was 20.4% and abdominal obesity was 48%. Obese subjects had more metabolic abnormalities than non-obese in terms of risk of hypertension, hyperglycaemia, hypercholesterolaemia, hypertriglyceridaemia, high level of LDL, low level of HDL, high ratio of TC/HDL, hyperuricaemia and fatty liver. Conclusions As overall and abdominal obesity may predict clustering of metabolic abnormalities we suggest that BMI and WC are convenient methods for assessing metabolic abnormalities in primary healthcare settings.     

Creating a peaceful school learning environment: a controlled study of an elementary school intervention to reduce violence

OBJECTIVE: The impact of a manual-based antiviolence program on the learning climate in an elementary school over 4 years was compared with the outcome in a control school. METHOD: The two schools were matched for demographic characteristics. The intervention in the experimental school was based on zero tolerance for bullying; the control school received only regular psychiatric consultation. Disciplinary and academic achievement data were collected in both schools. RESULTS: The experimental school showed significant reductions in discipline referrals and increases in scores on standardized academic achievement measures. CONCLUSIONS: A low-cost antiviolence intervention that does not focus on individual pathology or interfere with the educational process may improve the learning environment in elementary schools.     

Distribution of serogroups of Neisseria meningitidis and antigenic characterization of serogroup Y meningococci in Canada,January 1, 1999 to June 30, 2001

The relative frequency of serogroups of Neisseria meningitidis associated with meningococcal disease in Canada during the period January 1, 1999 to June 30, 2001 was examined. Of the 552 strains of N meningitidis collected from clinical specimens of normally sterile sites, 191 (34.6%), 276 (50.0%), 61 (11.1%) and 23 (4.2%) were identified by serological and molecular methods as serogroups B, C, Y and W135, respectively. About half (50.8%) of the serogroup Y isolates were isolated in the province of Ontario. The two most common serotypes found were 2c and 14. Most of the serogroup Y strains isolated from patients in Ontario were serotype 2c, while serotype 14 was the most common serotype associated with disease in the province of Quebec. The two most common serosubtypes found among the serogroup Y meningococci were P1.5 and P1.2,5. Laboratory findings, based on antigenic analysis, did not suggest that these serogroup Y strains arise by capsule switching from serogroups B and C strains. This study documented a higher incidence of finding serogroup Y meningococci in clinical specimens from patients in Ontario compared to the rest of Canada, and parallels the increase in serogroup Y meningococcal disease reported in some parts of the United States.Key Words: Meningococcal disease, Neisseria meningitidis, SerogroupsInvasive meningococcal disease (IMD) is a notifiable communicable disease that is monitored by a national surveillance program coordinated by the Division of Disease Surveillance and the Division of Respiratory Diseases, Centre for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Health Canada. Starting in 1971 and with the help of provincial public health officials, Health Canada began to collect data on the serogroup information on IMD cases. Also, isolates of meningococci collected from patients are routinely sent to Health Canada''s National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) in Winnipeg for further antigenic and genetic analyses.IMD is a serious disease globally but the serogroups of meningococci causing diseases in various countries may vary in frequency. For example, serogroup A is a major cause of disease in Africa and China (1), while serogroups B and C meningococci are the most frequent cause of IMD in Western countries (2). In Canada, most IMD cases are caused by meningococci belonging to serogroups B, C, Y and W135. Serogroups B and C account for over 75% of the isolates collected from patients (3).In the past decade, Neisseria meningitidis serogroup Y has emerged as a frequent cause of IMD in the United States (4,5). In view of these findings, it is important to monitor the incidence of serogroup Y disease. This report presents the frequency of isolation of serogroups of meningococci in normally sterile clinical specimens collected from patients (likely to be presented as IMD) in various parts of Canada and describes the distribution of serotypes and serosubtypes found among the serogroup Y isolates.     

敏净冲剂的抗过敏作用

0　引言　敏净冲剂是由地肤子、金银花、槐花等药味组成的纯中药制剂 ,临床用于治疗荨麻疹等多种变态反应性皮肤病疗效满意且无毒副作用 .前文 [1 ]已报道敏净冲剂对小鼠特异性及非特异性免疫反应均有一定抑制作用 ,我们主要从变态反应角度 ,结合体内及体外实验 ,观察敏净冲剂抗过敏的药理作用 .1　材料和方法1.1　材料　敏净冲剂稠浸膏 ,由本所制剂室提供 ,临用前用蒸馏水或台氏液配成不同浓度备用 (本文剂量均以原生药计 ) ;卵白蛋白 :Sigma公司产品 ;百日咳、白喉、破伤风三联疫苗 :卫生部兰州生物制品研究所生产 .动物为豚鼠 10 0只 ,…     

Subacute intracranial hemorrhage: contribution of spin density to appearance on spin-echo MR images

The T2 and pseudodensity (proportional to proton density) of intracranial hemorrhages and normal white matter were calculated. The mean T2 (+/- standard deviation) was 120 +/- 62 for hemorrhage and 61 +/- 11 for white matter. Pseudodensity values were normalized to a white matter value of 1, and the value for hemorrhage was 1.56 +/- 0.28. These values were used to determine which components of hemorrhage-white matter contrast are due to T1, T2, and density. The results indicate that on spin-echo (SE) images obtained with a long repetition time (TR)/short echo time (TE) (2,500/0-20 [TR msec/TE msec]), the contrast is mainly due to density differences, with a modest T2 contribution on 20-msec-TE images and nearly no T1 component. At 600/0-20, the contrast continues to be largely determined by density differences, again with a modest T2 component on 20-msec-TE images. If the T1 of hemorrhage is extremely short, the T1 component of contrast on 600/0-20 SE images will be somewhat greater than the density component. Because contrast on short TR/short TE images may be largely or entirely determined by pseudodensity or T2, it is inaccurate to refer to 600/20 images as "T1-weighted". The assumption that high signal intensity at this sequence implies a "short T1" will lead to misleading conclusions.