Development of a new bisphenol A electrochemical sensor based on a cadmium(ii) porphyrin modified carbon paste electrode

In this study, the (5,10,15,20-tetrakis[(4-methoxyphenyl)]porphyrinato)cadmium(ii) complex ([Cd(TMPP)]) was successfully used as a modifier in a carbon paste electrode (CPE) and exploited for bisphenol A (BPA) detection. Analytical performance revealed two linear ranges from 0.0015–15 μM and 0.015–1.5 mM with a detection limit of 13.5 pM. The proposed method was implemented in water samples, which resulted in quantitative signals over the range 6.5–1000 μM with recoveries between 92.6 and 107.7% for tap water and between 96.6 to 106.0% for mineral water.

In this study, the (5,10,15,20-tetrakis[(4-methoxyphenyl)]porphyrinato)cadmium(ii) complex ([Cd(TMPP)]) was successfully used as a modifier in a carbon paste electrode (CPE) and exploited for bisphenol A (BPA) detection.     

Trends and seasonality of antibiotic resistance of Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

Over 8,400 pretreatment isolates of Neisseria gonorrhoeae collected in the United States between November 1972 and April 1975 were tested for their in vitro resistance to penicillin, ampicillin, tetracycline, and spectinomycin. Trends and seasonality of resistance were examined by use of a harmonic regression technique. During the study period, there was a significant difference among years in the mean minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for each antibiotic (P less than 0.001 for penicillin, ampicillin, and tetracycline; P less 0.05 for spectinomycin), and the mean MIC for each antibiotic decreased. Resistance to tetracycline and penicillin was highest in the winter months. Seasonality of resistance, alone or as an interaction with year, approached significance (P less than 0.10) or was significant (P less than 0.05) for all four antibiotics.     

Outcome of endoscopic sphincterotomy in post cholecystectomy patients with sphincter of Oddi dysfunction as predicted by manometry and quantitative choledochoscintigraphy

BACKGROUND: Sphincter of Oddi dysfunction is diagnosed at manometry and, after cholecystectomy, non-invasively at quantitative choledochoscintigraphy. Patients may benefit from endoscopic sphincterotomy. AIMS: The aim of this study was to assess the usefulness of choledochoscintigraphy compared with manometry in predicting outcome of sphincterotomy in post cholecystectomy patients with sphincter of Oddi dysfunction. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty patients with biliary-type pain complying with the Rome diagnostic criteria of sphincter of Oddi dysfunction and belonging to biliary group I and II were subjected to clinical evaluation, choledochoscintigraphic assessment of the hepatic hilum-duodenum transit time, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, and perendoscopic manometry. Twenty two biliary group I and II patients with prolonged hepatic hilum-duodenum transit times were invited to undergo sphincterotomy. Fourteen patients underwent sphincterotomy; eight refused. Clinical and scintigraphic assessments were performed at follow up. RESULTS: Hepatic hilum-duodenum transit time was delayed in all patients with manometric evidence of sphincter of Oddi dysfunction, in all biliary group I patients and in 64% of biliary group II patients. At follow up, all patients who underwent sphincterotomy were symptom free and hepatic hilum-duodenum transit time had either normalised or significantly improved. A favourable post sphincterotomy outcome was predicted in 93% of cases at choledochoscintigraphy and in 57% at manometry. CONCLUSIONS: Quantitative choledochoscintigraphy is a useful and non-invasive test to diagnose sphincter of Oddi dysfunction as well as a reliable predictor of sphincterotomy outcome in post cholecystectomy biliary group I and II patients, irrespective of clinical classification and manometric findings.     

Ultra-fast,low dose high-pitch (FLASH) versus prospectively-gated coronary computed tomography angiography: Comparison of image quality and patient radiation exposure

Background

Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) is increasingly being used for the evaluation of coronary artery disease; however, radiation exposure remains a major limitation of its use.

Enterococcal endocarditis: 107 cases from the international collaboration on endocarditis merged database

PURPOSE: To describe clinical features and outcomes of enterococcal left-sided native valve endocarditis and to compare it to endocarditis caused by other pathogens. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Patients in the International Collaboration on Endocarditis-Merged Database were included if they had left-sided native valve endocarditis. Demographic characteristics, clinical features, and outcomes were analyzed. Multivariable analysis evaluated enterococcus as a predictor of mortality. RESULTS: Of 1285 patients with left-sided native valve endocarditis, 107 had enterococcal endocarditis. Enterococcal endocarditis was most frequently seen in elderly men, frequently involved the aortic valve, tended to produce heart failure rather than embolic events, and had relatively low short-term mortality. Compared to patients with non-enterococcal endocarditis, patients with enterococcal endocarditis had similar rates of nosocomial acquisition, heart failure, embolization, surgery, and mortality. Compared to patients with streptococcal endocarditis, patients with enterococcal endocarditis were more likely to be nosocomially acquired (9 of 59 [15%] vs 2 of 400 [1%]; P <.0001) and have heart failure (49 of 107 [46%] vs 234 of 666 [35%]; P = 0.03). Compared to patients with S. aureus endocarditis, patients with enterococcal endocarditis were less likely to embolize (28 of 107 [26%] vs 155 of 314 [49%]; P <.0001) and less likely to die (12 of 107 [11%] vs 83 of 313 [27%]; P = 0.001). Multivariable analysis of all patients with left-sided native valve endocarditis showed that enterococcal endocarditis was associated with lower mortality (odds ratio [OR] 0.49; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.24 to 0.97). CONCLUSIONS: Enterococcal native valve endocarditis has a distinctive clinical picture with a good prognosis.     

General and specific brain regions involved in encoding and retrieval of events: what, where, and when.

Remembering an event involves not only what happened, but also where and when it occurred. We measured regional cerebral blood flow by positron emission tomography during initial encoding and subsequent retrieval of item, location, and time information. Multivariate image analysis showed that left frontal brain regions were always activated during encoding, and right superior frontal regions were always activated at retrieval. Pairwise image subtraction analyses revealed information-specific activations at (i) encoding, item information in left hippocampal, location information in right parietal, and time information in left fusiform regions; and (ii) retrieval, item in right inferior frontal and temporal, location in left frontal, and time in anterior cingulate cortices. These results point to the existence of general encoding and retrieval networks of episodic memory whose operations are augmented by unique brain areas recruited for processing specific aspects of remembered events.