一氧化氮代谢物的测定及其与病毒性肝炎若干相关因素的分析

测定了423例各型肝炎、肝炎后肝硬化患者一氧化氮代谢物NO2-／NO3-的值，并与42例正常人作对照，结果肝硬化组NO2-/NO3-值高于对照组及其他各型肝炎组（P＜0．01）。肝硬化NO2-／NO3-的升高与血浆白蛋白（ALB）呈负相关，与腹水量呈正相关，与门脉宽度呈正相关．而与TBA、SB、ALT、AST、凝血酶原活动度等无相关性。提示一氧化氮可能在高动力循环、腹水生成、白蛋白合成方面起重要作用。     

Expression of cyclic ADP-ribose-synthetizing CD38 molecule on human platelet membrane

CD38 is a cell surface molecule widely used as a marker for immature and activated lymphocytes. It has been recently shown that CD38 displays three enzymatic activities: hydrolysis of NAD+ to ADP-ribose, synthesis of cyclic ADP-ribose from NAD+, and hydrolysis of cyclic ADP- ribose to ADP-ribose. Thus, CD38 plays a key role in the synthesis of cyclic ADP-ribose, a calcium-mobilizing compound. We investigate here the expression and cellular localization of CD38 in human platelets using a specific monoclonal antibody. Results showed that CD38 is expressed by human platelet membranes. Moreover, we show that platelet CD38 possesses NAD glycohydrolase, ADP-ribose cyclase, and cyclic ADP- ribose hydrolase activities. This finding indicates that the calcium- mobilizing agent cyclic ADP-ribose can be synthetized by human platelets and raises the question about the possible role of CD38 expression and enzymatic activities in the signal transduction pathways leading to platelet activation.     

An overview of osteopathy graduates’ perceived preparedness at transition from educational environment to clinic environment one year after graduation: a cross sectional study

Background

This study investigated perceived preparedness to practice, one year after graduation across osteopathic education institutions (OEIs) and explored possible differences between countries where osteopathy is regulated (Reg) and countries where it is not (Unreg).

Methods

Two hundred forty-five graduates from 7 OEIs in 4 European countries, already assessed in a previous study, were contacted one year after their graduation to complete the survey. Survey tools included a questionnaire to assess perceived preparedness to practice: Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) questionnaire, and a questionnaire to collect socio-demographic information and practice characteristics.

Results

One hundred sixty-eight graduates (68.6%) completed the survey. The AAMC mean score one year after the graduation (23.19; confidence interval 22.81–23.58) was significantly higher than in the previous study (17.58; 16.90–18.26) (p?<?0.001). A difference was also found between Reg (23.49; 23.03–23.95) and Unreg (22.34; 21.74–22.94) (p?=?0.004). Osteopaths with a previous healthcare degree scored significantly higher on AAMC score (25.53; 24.88–26.19) than osteopaths without a previous healthcare degree (22.33; 21.97–22.69) (p?<?0.001). Regulation and a previous degree were the only significant independent variables in the most predictive multivariate linear model. The model had an r²?=?0.33.

Conclusions

Graduates from OEIs where osteopathy is regulated felt significantly better prepared to practice than Unreg. Systematic information searches about graduates’ perception of preparedness to practice, may enable OEIs to strengthen their existing curricula to ensure their graduates are effectively prepared to practice.

     

Craniofacial surgical strategies for the correction of pneumosinus dilatans frontalis

IntroductionPneumosinus dilatans is a rare condition and different techniques have been proposed for its management and correction.The abnormally expanded, aerated frontal sinus has been described in the literature as: frontal sinus hypertrophy, pneumosinus dilatans, pneumosinus frontalis, aerocele, pneumocele, sinus ectasia, hyperpneumatization and others. The precise aetiology and pathogenesis of the condition is unknown, although several basic hypotheses have been proposedMaterial and methodsThe authors report two cases of frontal bossing and supraorbital ridge deformity correction using craniofacial surgical principles.DiscussionFunctional and morphological results are discussed and compared with other open procedures.ConclusionA variety of surgical procedures have been proposed for the correction of the pneumosinus dilatans frontalis. The craniofacial approach is advocated to reproduce the normal anatomy of the forehead in the upper part, the supraorbital rim and glabellar area.     

View-invariant representations of familiar objects by neurons in the inferior temporal visual cortex

A view-invariant representation of objects in the brain would have many computational advantages. Here we describe a population of single neurons in the temporal visual cortex (IT) that have view-invariant representations of familiar objects. Ten real plastic objects were placed in the monkeys' home cages for a period of time before neurophysiological experiments in which neuronal responses were measured to four views of each object. The macaques performed a visual fixation task, and had never been trained in object discrimination. The majority of the visual neurons recorded were responsive to some views of some objects and/or to the control stimuli, as would be expected from previous studies. However, a small subset of these neurons were responsive to all views of one or more of the objects, providing evidence that these neurons were coding for objects, rather than simply for individual views or visual features within the image. This result was confirmed by information theoretic analyses, which showed that the neurons provided information about which object was being seen, independently of the view. The coding scheme was shown to be sparse distributed, with relatively independent information being provided by the different neurons. Hypotheses about how these view-invariant cells are formed are described.