Antimicrobial Activities of Skincare Preparations from Plant Extracts

In this study, Tithonia diversifolia Helms. (A Gray), Aloe secundiflora (Miller) and Azadirachta indica (A. Juss) plant extracts were used to make herbal soaps while Thevetia peruviana (Schum) seed oil was used to make a herbal lotion for skincare. The soaps were tested for the growth inhibition of Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans. The lotion was evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus and E.coli. Although Tithonia diversifolia soap exhibited the highest inhibitory effect on the test bacterial strains, it had the least inhibition against C. albicans. Results from this study indicated that the ‘Tithonia diversifolia’ soap would have superior skin protection against the tested bacteria but would offer the least skin protection against C. albicans. The herbal lotion inhibited S. aureus and E. coli in a concentration dependent manner, however, the inhibitory effect was more pronounced on S. aureus.     

Plasminogen activator secretion in relation to Schwann cell activities

The molecular characterization of neural secretory plasminogen activators and their possible association with two well-defined Schwann cell activities (mitosis and migration) were investigated. Schwann cells from peripheral sensory ganglion roots were established as primary cultures of high purity. Conditioned culture medium was fractionated by gel electrophoresis and assayed for plasminogen-dependent in situ caseinolytic activity. Both tissue-type and urokinase-type plasminogen activators were detected early in culture. The amount of the tissue-type form decreased with increasing time in culture. Proliferative ability measured as [3H]thymidine incorporation into the nucleus varied under several culture conditions and was lowest in defined serum-free medium; however, these serum-free cultures expressed the highest level of plasminogen activator secreting cells. Combined autoradiography/fibrin overlay assays allowed for a direct analysis at the single cell level; interestingly the findings did not support the idea of an obligatory expression of the enzyme in replicating cells. Cell motility was assayed in combined gold particle clearing/fibrin overlay assays and likewise no obligatory association of protease secretion and cell movement could be demonstrated. The results are discussed in relation to previous studies in this field.     

Evaluation of a new enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test for rotavirus antigen in faeces

A new commercial test for the diagnosis of rotavirus gastroenteritis was assessed. With some modifications it compared favourably with electron microscopy and immunofluorescence.     

A century of regulatory peptides: From discovery to function

This article has no abstract. To view the article, select the "View Print Version (PDF)" link above.     

贵池日本血吸虫对江苏沿海地区钉螺感染性的初步研究

目的　了解异地血吸虫品系对江苏省沿海残存钉螺的感染性。方法　用安徽省贵池现场感染性钉螺逸出的尾蚴感染家兔所取得的毛蚴 ,以毛蚴与钉螺 2 0∶ 1感染现场采集的钉螺 ,比较钉螺感染率和尾蚴逸出前期。结果　贵池血吸虫对如东、东台和贵池 3地钉螺感染率分别为 4 .35 %、16 .0 0 %和 4 0 .5 8% ,尾蚴平均逸出前期分别为 (72 .6 9± 8.73) d、(6 8.35± 5 .78) d和 (71.5 0± 9.0 7)d,贵池血吸虫对当地钉螺感染率显著高于对江苏沿海钉螺的感染率 (x1 2 =2 4 .5 8,x2 2 =14 .35 ,P <0 .0 1) ,尾蚴逸出前期差异无显著性 (t1 =0 .0 2 35 ,t2 =0 .1732 ,P>0 .1)。结论　江苏沿海地区钉螺在室内能被贵池血吸虫实验感染 ,长江流域血吸虫的输入 ,有可能导致血吸虫病的再流行     

Conceptual issues specifically related to health-related quality of life in critically ill patients

During recent years increasing attention has been given to the quality of survival in critical care. Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is an important issue both for patients and their families. Furthermore, admission to the intensive care unit can have adverse psychological effects in critically ill patients. Recent studies conducted in critically ill patients have measured HRQOL. However, usually absent from such reports are evaluations of conceptual issues, addressing factors such as why HRQOL should be measured in critically ill patients, how to define and standardize domains of HRQOL, whether proxies can provide useful information about HRQOL in critically ill patients, whether response shift occurs in critically ill patients, and whether post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) occurs in critically ill patients. Some studies reported moderate agreement between patients and their proxies, although lower levels of agreement may be reported for psychosocial or physical functioning. Response shift (adaptation and change in perception) appears to be an important phenomenon and likely to be present, but it is seldom measured when estimating HRQOL in critically ill patients. Furthermore, vigilance for symptoms of PTSD and early interventions to prevent PTSD are needed.     

Pathway analysis of gene signatures predicting metastasis of node-negative primary breast cancer

Background  

Published prognostic gene signatures in breast cancer have few genes in common. Here we provide a rationale for this observation by studying the prognostic power and the underlying biological pathways of different gene signatures.     

Maternal HIV infection, drug use, and growth of uninfected children in their first 3 years

OBJECTIVE: To determine the separate effects of maternal HIV infection and drug use during pregnancy on growth of uninfected children in their first 3 years. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of measurements from health visitor records made during routine child health surveillance at 6 weeks, 10 months, and 3 years of age. Multilevel analysis allowed for between-infant variation in fitted growth lines, and adjustment for other factors. Growth was described in terms of an intercept (z score at term) and growth slopes (change in z score per year) up to, and from, 4 months. SUBJECTS: 290 case babies delivered in Edinburgh hospitals to women who reported injection drug use by either themselves or their HIV infected partner, and 186 community controls. A total of 131 (45%) of the case babies were born to women who used drugs, predominantly opiates, during pregnancy and 93 (32%) to HIV infected women. The eight infected children were excluded from analysis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Age and sex standardised z scores for height, weight, and body mass index. RESULTS: 459 (96%) of the 476 records for cases and controls were traced, yielding 1432 weight and 939 height measurements. Maternal HIV infection was not found to affect growth; at 3 years the estimated effect on weight z score was 0.16 with 95% confidence interval (-0.25 to 0.57) and for height 0.18 (-0.19 to 0.55). Drug use during pregnancy was associated with lighter babies at 40 weeks followed by depressed growth in the first four months, these infants remaining just slightly smaller at 3 years with an estimated effect on z scores of -0.5 for weight with 95% confidence interval (-0.89 to -0.11) and -0.37 (-0.72 to -0.02) for height. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal HIV infection does not adversely affect growth in uninfected infants, and the effect of drug use during pregnancy is limited to small decrease in size at 3 years.