The use of toxicity bioassays to monitor the recovery of oiled wetland sediments

Six toxicity assays were compared to determine their efficacy in assessing toxicity dynamics during a wetland bioremediation study. The toxicity bioassays used were the Microtox 100% elutriate test, Microtox Solid Phase Test (SPT), amphipod assay, P450 reporter gene system, Toxi-ChromoPad test and a Salmonella/microsome assay. Oiled sediments were analyzed for toxicity in the petroleum biostimulation experiment conducted along the San Jacinto River, near Houston (TX, USA). The bioassays were evaluated for their ability to measure acute toxicity, chronic toxicity, and the mutagenic potential of amended oiled plots as compared to oiled and unoiled control plots. Amendments were diammonium phosphate alone or in combination with potassium nitrate, which served as an alternate electron acceptor. With exception of the Toxi-ChromoPad and Salmonella tests, the bioassays exhibited a significant increase in toxicity after oil application. Microtox bioassays detected significant sediment toxicity up to 29 d after oil and amendment application. The Microtox solid phase test results correlated strongly with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses of total target saturate and aromatic hydrocarbons. The amphipod assay detected initial toxicity with a decline to day 70, followed by a significant increase in toxicity on day 140 in plots receiving nutrient amendments, which may be in response to excessive nutrient application. Low levels of enzyme induction were observed with the P450 reporter gene system assay in all oiled sediments throughout the study, suggesting low but persistent levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Of the six tests, the two Microtox tests and the amphipod test showed the most potential in evaluating petroleum toxicity in wetland sediments.     

Familial dementia with Lewy bodies with an atypical clinical presentation

The authors report a case of a 64-year-old male with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) pathology at autopsy who did not manifest the core symptoms of DLB until very late in his clinical course. His initial presentation of early executive and language dysfunction suggested a cortical dementia similar to frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). Core symptoms of DLB including dementia, hallucination, and parkinsonian symptoms were not apparent until late in the course of his illness. Autopsy revealed both brainstem and cortical Lewy bodies and AD pathology. Family history revealed 7 relatives with a history of dementia including 4 with possible or probable DLB. This case is unique because of the FTLD-like presentation, positive family history of dementia, and autopsy confirmation of DLB.     

Matrix-dependent plasticity of the malignant phenotype of bladder cancer cells

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of cancer- and normal basement membrane-derived extracellular matrix to modulate the phenotype of bladder cancer cell lines. Five lines, varying in malignancy from papilloma to highly undifferentiated and invasive and immortalized human urothelial cells, were grown on two extracellular matrix preparations, Matrigel and SISgel. Matrigel represents matrix remodeled by malignancy while SISgel, obtained from small intestine submucosa (SIS), represents the normal matrix supporting differentiated cell growth. On Matrigel, regardless of the content of growth factors, the invasive lines displayed an invasive phenotype, while the low grade lines grew as papillary structures. In contrast, when the same cells were grown on SISgel, they grew as a layer of cells one to 5 cells thick, failed to invade, and expressed cell-surface E-cadherin. Unlike breast cancer cells, neutralization of beta 1, beta 4 and alpha 6 integrins altered cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesiveness but did not alter the phenotype. When invasive cells were grown on mixtures of SISgel and Matrigel, the phenotype changed gradually, not abruptly, indicating that factors within the gel reversibly alter the phenotypic expression of invasion. In summary, the phenotype of bladder cancer cells growing in tissue-like 3-dimensional culture is highly plastic, and malignant properties such as invasion and papillary growth can be suppressed by the matrix.     

Children who soil: guidelines for good practice

The need for a more coherent and integrated national service for children with constipation and soiling has been recognised for some years. It became clear to the team at the voluntary organisation Enuresis Resource & Information Centre (ERIC) as a result of the experiences of the many parents and professionals who contacted them. They responded by setting up a multidisciplinary working group to begin the process of reviewing the research. The group then went on to oversee the publication of the first national minimum standard guidelines for service delivery in this area of child health.     

高效液相色谱法测定金鸡胶囊中巴马汀和小檗碱的含量

目的:建立金鸡胶囊复方制剂中巴马汀和小檗碱含量同时测定的方法.方法:采用高效液相色谱法测定,色谱条件:色谱柱:Shim-Pack VP-ODS,流动相:乙腈-1%磷酸水溶液(含1%三乙胺和0.3%的十二烷基磺酸钠)(40:60);检测波长:350 nm;柱温:40℃;流速:1.0 mL·min-1.结果:巴马汀和小檗碱的量分别在0.01～0.20μg之间,都与相应的峰面积呈良好线形关系(r=0.9996,r=0.9997),加样回收率分别为:99.2%,98.8%;重复性试验RSD为2.6%和2.2%.结论:本方法灵敏、方便,巴马汀和小檗碱的分离度良好,结果满意.     

小剂量多巴酚丁胺试验在慢性冠脉闭塞病变中的应用

1临床资料2000/2004年慢性冠脉闭塞患者50例,行PT-CA及支架置入术.术前心电图及冠脉造影证实:闭塞3 mo以内者28例,3 mo以上22例.使用多巴酚丁胺前,利用心脏彩超测患者左室长轴、短轴、心尖四腔、二腔心等标准切面,测定收缩及舒张功能指标,分析室壁功能(可分为正常、减轻、无运动、矛盾运动4级).按3,5,10μg/(min·kg)分阶段各持续用微量泵泵入多巴酚丁胺5 min,如室壁运动改善＞1级或EF值增加,视为心肌存活,反之心肌不存活.试验证实心肌存活占29例,无心肌存活21例.     

Breast cancer risk and exposure in early life to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using total suspended particulates as a proxy measure.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are ubiquitous in the environment. We hypothesized that early life exposure to PAHs may have particular importance in the etiology of breast cancer. We conducted a population-based, case-control study of ambient exposure to PAHs in early life in relation to the risk of breast cancer. Total suspended particulates (TSP), a measure of ambient air pollution, was used as a proxy for PAHs exposure. Cases (n = 1,166) were women with histologically confirmed, primary, incident breast cancer. Controls (n = 2,105) were frequency matched by age, race, and county of residence to cases. Annual average TSP concentrations (1959-1997) by location were obtained from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for Erie and Niagara Counties. Based on the monitor readings, prediction maps of TSP concentrations were generated with ArcGIS 8.0 (ESRI, Inc., Redlands, CA) using inverse distance squared weighted interpolation. Unconditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. In postmenopausal women, exposure to high concentrations of TSP (>140 microg/m(3)) at birth was associated with an adjusted odds ratio of 2.42 (95% confidence interval, 0.97-6.09) compared with exposure to low concentrations (<84 microg/m(3)). However, in premenopausal women, where exposures were generally lower, the results were inconsistent with our hypothesis and in some instances were suggestive of a reduction in the risk of breast cancer. Our study suggests that exposure in early life to high levels of PAHs may increase the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer; however, other confounders related to geography cannot be ruled out.