Antibacterial activities of the leaf extracts of Eugenia uniflora Linn. (Synonym Stenocalyx michelli Linn.) Myrtaceae

The aqueous, organic, and volatile oil extracts of leaves of Eugenia uniflora Linn. Family Myrtaceae were investigated for antibacterial properties using agar dilution techniques. The aqueous extract was the most active against the organisms compared to the organic and volatile oil extracts. The extracts were found to inhibit Gram positive Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis and Gram negative Escherichia coli and Shigella dysentcriae. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniac, and Salmonella typhi were not inhibited.     

Recurrence, progression and survival in bladder cancer. A retrospective analysis of 232 patients with greater than or equal to 5-year follow-up

A retrospective study of 232 bladder tumours with minimum follow-up 5 years is presented. The carcinoma was superficial in 66%, muscle-invasive in 31% and could not be staged in 3%. Primary treatment was mainly transurethral resection for superficial tumour, but was cystectomy or radiotherapy in 22 of 29 T1 G3. Of the superficial tumours, 71% recurred. Progression to higher T stage occurred in 15% of Ta and 29% of T1 tumours, and half of these patients died of bladder cancer. The corrected 5-year survival rates in grades 1, 2A, 2B and 3-4 were 96, 84, 64 and 43%, and in stages Ta, T1, T2 and T3 they were 94, 69, 40 and 31%. All patients with T4 tumour died within 4 years. Among the 45 patients with 40 Gy irradiation + cystectomy, the corrected 5-year survival rate was 83% in superficial and 64% in muscle-invasive tumours, and among the 38 with radical radiotherapy the rates in T1-3 were 46, 36 and 13%. Transurethral resection was successful in most Ta cases. Most T1 tumours were, like T2-4, of higher grade than Ta. Prognosis was worse in T1 than in Ta. After progression to muscle-invasive disease, even during close follow-up the outlook was poor, as poor as for patients with primary muscle-invasive disease.     

Traumatic infarction of the spinal cord in children

Infarction of the spinal cord in childhood is rarely due to trauma. During a 15-year period (1971 to 1985), eight children were admitted to The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, with a diagnosis of traumatic infarction of the spinal cord. All of these patients had delayed onset of neurological signs varying between 2 hours and 4 days after their initial trauma. No bone abnormalities were seen on plain spine x-ray films. Myelography was carried out in seven of these children and found to be normal in all seven. Six patients who were paraplegic at the time of admission remained permanently paraplegic, but two with incomplete cord signs did show some improvement.     

Total-body protein turnover in parenterally fed neonates: effects of energy source studied by using [15N]glycine and [1-13C]leucine

The effects of nonprotein energy source (ie, glucose only vs glucose and lipid) on nitrogen retention and total-body protein turnover were studied in 20 parenterally fed newborn infants. All infants received approximately 3 g amino acids and 80-90 kcal.kg body wt.d. Total-body protein synthesis was estimated by using three constant-infusion, end-product methods: enrichment of urinary urea and ammonia in response to a [15N]glycine label and exhaled carbon dioxide enrichment in response to a [1-13C]leucine label. No differences were seen in nitrogen retention between the two energy sources. The estimate of total-body protein turnover obtained from the 13C label was similar to that obtained with the [15N]urea label. No differences in turnover rates were observed between the two diet groups. Use of the glucose-plus-lipid fuel system enhanced energy storage and the reutilization of amino acid for protein synthesis.     

An ex-vivo technic for the pharmacologic evaluation of potential antiphlogistics by ex-vivo determination of the rate of malondialdehyde (MDA) formation using rat platelets

Based on a standardized in-vitro method for quantifying the activity of prostaglandin-synthetase by means of coupling malondialdehyde with 2-thiobarbituric acid the possibility of using this method also as ex-vivo technique is described. By this, more favourable prerequisites to pharmacological valuation of the effects of potential antiinflammatory substances exists compared to the application of in-vitro results, only.     

Angiotensin I conversion and coronary constriction by angiotensin II in ischemic and hypoxic isolated rat hearts.

Dose-response curves of angiotensin I (AI, 1.0-1000.0 pmol) and angiotensin II (AII, 1.25-1250.00 pmol) were obtained in isolated rat hearts subjected to control conditions, mild hypoxia (PO2 = 145 mm Hg), reoxygenation, ischemic (perfusion pressure = 35 mm Hg) and reperfusion. Both AI and AII caused dose-dependent coronary flow (CF) of 26 +/- 3 and 27 +/- 2%, respectively. The effects of both AI and AII were substantially attenuated during hypoxia, but were fully restored upon reoxygenation. During ischemia, the effect of AII was unaltered while the effect of AI was enhanced compared to the control (P less than 0.05). This enhancement was reversible on reperfusion. Cardiac conversion of AI, calculated from ED50 values for AI and AII, was significantly increased during ischemia (P less than 0.05). Infusion of saralasin (0.5-5.0 micrograms/min) did not increase CF in any of the groups. We conclude that (1) the coronary vasoconstrictive effect of AII is preserved in ischemia but attenuated in hypoxia and (2) cardiac conversion of AI to AII is enhanced in hearts injured by ischemia.     

Familial occurrence of testicular cancer

A case of testicular cancer in 2 brothers is reported and a review of the literature about testicular malignancies and etiologic factors in closely related family members is given. The familial incidence of testicular tumor is found to be 3% in twins and 0.6-2.1% in less closely related men. Tumors were of the same histology in 70-77% of the twins, whereas in brothers and in other degrees of relationship tumors of different histology mostly occur. Following the diagnosis of the tumor in the first man, the average interval to presentation of the tumor in the relative was 3.7 years in twins, 7.7 years in nontwin brothers and 13.5 years for less closely related men. The need for a thorough checkup of other family members is advised.     

Correlation of perinatal brain growth with age, body size, sex, and race

This study compares the weight of the human brain to gestational age and body dimensions. A new formula for calculating the rate of growth is proposed. It consists of a second order polynomial function: Y = A0 + A1X + A2X2, in which Y is brain weight, body weight, height, or body surface area; X is gestational age in weeks and A0, A1, and A2 are statistically estimated coefficients. In utero, the growth rate is most rapid for body weight, followed in decreasing order by brain weight, body surface area, and height. Brain growth is the same for both sexes in black and white races; it accelerates between the 20th and 45th weeks of gestation. The size of the newborn infant brain is directly related to gestational age and body size and is not determined by sex or race.