Adverse reactions in blood donors with a history of seizures or epilepsy

BACKGROUND: Individuals with epilepsy or seizure disorders are restricted from donating blood because of concern that they are prone to adverse donor reactions such as syncope and convulsions. A study evaluating whether that concern is warranted is reported. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: During a 2-year period beginning in 1987, blood donors in Maryland with a history of seizures were actively recruited by the American Red Cross. Adverse donor reactions were classified as "slight", indicating dizziness and nausea without loss of consciousness; "moderate," denoting syncope; and "severe," indicating convulsive syncope. RESULTS: There were 329,143 satisfactory blood donations; 613 individuals reporting a history of seizures donated blood a total of 723 times. Among donors with seizures, 186 (35.7%) were taking antiepileptic medication, and 61 (8.4%) had had one or more seizures in the preceding year. Individuals with seizures had a low incidence of adverse reactions (3.34%). Although this incidence was slightly higher than that in the entire population (2.24%), the difference was not significant. In particular, the risk of syncope with or without convulsive activity was low for people with seizures (0.21%) and not significantly greater than that in other donors (0.28%). CONCLUSION: Individuals with seizures or epilepsy are not at greater risk for adverse reactions after blood donation, and major restrictions on their participation as blood donors are not warranted.     

Multiaxial analysis of dental composite materials

Dental composites are subjected to extreme chemical and mechanical conditions in the oral environment, contributing to the degradation and ultimate failure of the material in vivo. The objective of this study is to validate an alternative method of mechanically loading dental composite materials. Confined compression testing more closely represents the complex loading that dental restorations experience in the oral cavity. Dental composites, a nanofilled and a hybrid microfilled, were prepared as cylindrical specimens, light-cured in ring molds of 6061 aluminum, with the ends polished to ensure parallel surfaces. The samples were subjected to confined compression loading to 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15% axial strain. Upon loading, the ring constrains radial expansion of the specimen, generating confinement stresses. A strain gage placed on the outer wall of the aluminum confining ring records hoop strain. Assuming plane stress conditions, the confining stress (sigma(c)) can be calculated at the sample/ring interface. Following mechanical loading, tomographic data was generated using a high-resolution microtomography system developed at beamline 2-BM of the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory. Extraction of the crack and void surfaces present in the material bulk is numerically represented as crack edge/volume (CE/V), and calculated as a fraction of total specimen volume. Initial results indicate that as the strain level increases the CE/V increases. Analysis of the composite specimens under different mechanical loads suggests that microtomography is a useful tool for three-dimensional evaluation of dental composite fracture surfaces.     

The ratio of Matriptase/HAI-1 mRNA is higher in colorectal cancer adenomas and carcinomas than corresponding tissue from control individuals

Background  

It has recently been shown that overexpression of the serine protease, matriptase, in transgenic mice causes a dramatically increased frequency of carcinoma formation. Overexpression of HAI-1 and matriptase together changed the frequency of carcinoma formation to normal. This suggests that the ratio of matriptase to HAI-1 influences the malignant progression. The aim of this study has been to determine the ratio of matriptase to HAI-1 mRNA expression in affected and normal tissue from individuals with colorectal cancer adenomas and carcinomas as well as in healthy individuals, in order to determine at which stages a dysregulated ratio of matriptase/HAI-1 mRNA is present during carcinogenesis.     

骶骨螺钉经上终板与经前皮质固定的生物力学比较

目的测试骶骨螺钉经上终板固定技术的生物力学性能,并与经前皮质固定技术比较。方法取17具新鲜成年男性骶骨标本,两侧分别采用螺钉经上终板固定和经前皮质固定技术。经前皮质固定的螺钉指向前内侧,平行于终板;经上终板固定的螺钉指向前内侧,矢状面上向头侧成30°～35°角,钉尖对向S1上终板的前部。植入螺钉时测定最大扭矩;通过模拟生理应力进行疲劳试验,测定固定刚度变化和拔出力。结果经上终板固定组螺钉最大扭矩为(3.18±0.49)Nm,经前皮质固定组为(1.98±0.76)Nm, 差异有非常显著性(P< 0.01),经上终板固定组比经前皮质固定组高60.6%; 经上终板固定组拔出力为(1457±276)N,经前皮质固定组为(1122±364)N, 差异有显著性(P< 0.05),经上终板固定组比经前皮质固定组高29.9%;在循环负载过程中,两组刚度在负载早期(前5000个循环)均明显下降,然后趋于平稳,经上终板固定组的最后刚度高于经前皮质固定组(P< 0.05)。两组中螺钉的最大扭矩与拔出力均有显著相关性,相关系数分别为0.94和0.95(P< 0.01)。结论骶骨螺钉经上终板固定技术与经前皮质固定技术相比有一定的力学优越性。     

Beta thalassemia in Melanesia: association with malaria and characterization of a common variant (IVS-1 nt 5 G----C)

Data on the distribution of beta thalassemia among over 6,000 Melanesians reveals a major difference in the carrier rates between populations in the malarious coastal regions of New Guinea and those living in the historically malaria-free Highlands. The island of Maewo in Vanuatu has a particularly high incidence of beta + thalassemia associated with a single restriction enzyme haplotype. Direct cloning into a plasmid vector and sequence analysis demonstrate that the mutation is a G to C transversion at position 5 of intron 1 of the beta- globin gene. Oligonucleotide probe surveys indicate that this variant accounted for all cases of beta thalassemia studied from Maewo. It is also common in coastal Papua New Guinea where haplotype and oligonucleotide probe data suggest that the molecular basis of beta thalassmia is more heterogeneous.