丁基苯酞对大鼠局灶性脑缺血和重灌后脑内TXB2和6—keto—PGF1α…

目的：观察丁基苯酞（ＮＢＰ）对大鼠局灶性脑缺血及重灌后海马，纹状体和皮层中ＴＸＢ２及６－ｋｅｔｏ－ＰＧＦ１α含量的影响，方法：尼龙线栓塞法造成大鼠局灶性脑缺血模型，ＴＸＢ２和６－ｋｅｔｏ－ＰＧＦ１α用放免法测定。结果：ＮＢＰ１０ｍｇ．ｋｇ＾－１治疗对缺血重灌注后脑组织中ＴＸＢ２的产生具有抑制作用，但对６－ｋｅｔｏ－ＰＧＦ１α的产生无明显作用，ＮＢＰ２０ｍｇ．ｋｇ＾－１治疗后，重灌５ｍｉｎ缺血脑组织     

Met and unmet nursing care needs in men with prostate cancer. An explorative study. Part II

Men with prostate cancer ( n = 11) were interviewed during an in-patient period at a urological clinic, about their experiences of met and unmet needs from health professionals. Their perception of quality of life and sense of coherence were also assessed. The findings were analysed from a phenemenological-hermeneutic perspective and interpreted within the concept of transition. It was interpreted that objective functional health needs were mostly met by health professionals and subjective existential needs were mostly not met. The analysis revealed patients as passive or active receivers of care. Passive receivers were explicitly and implicitly stating unmet needs, or explicitly stating satisfaction with nursing care at the same time as implicitly contradicting, referring to their needs as bagatelles, unimportant, whereas active receivers talked about their needs explicitly with the staff and did not state implicit unmet needs. This suggests that nurses need to be aware of and have sensitive ears to undertones in statements and actively seek for patients' needs. The most important nursing care areas seemed to be to provide solutions to physical problems together with staff support including information, and acting to increase confidence in staff and staff availability. This encourages patients, wives and families, in co-operation, towards a healthy exit of transition.     

Adhesion and growth of Serratia marcescens on artificial closed eye tears soaked hydrogel contact lenses

The adhesion to hydrogel contact lenses and growth of Serratia marcescens on artificial tear fluid (ATF) soaked lenses was investigated. Results indicated that a corneal ulcer isolate adhered more avidly to lenses; ATF increased adhesion for all strains tested. The contact lens induced acute red eye (CLARE) isolate adhered poorly; however; it grew to a larger extent on ATF-coated lenses. The ability of the corneal ulcer isolate to adhere to lenses may be an important factor in its pathogenicity whereas the ability of the CLARE isolate to grow on the lens in the presence of antimicrobial tear proteins may be important in the development of inflammation.     

The effectiveness of 'nursing beds': a review of the literature

A literature search was conducted to identify 'nursing led in-patient units' where the nurse is the designated leader of the clinical team. The review concentrates on studies which have attempted to measure the impact of nursing-led in-patient units and reviews both the methodology and outcomes. Three major bodies of work were identified. Lydia Hall's evaluation of the Loeb Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation (USA) is reviewed in some detail. This work was the model for 'nursing beds' at the two Oxfordshire Nursing Development Units (UK) in the 1980s. Studies evaluating these centres are reviewed and reports of similar UK units discussed. A third body of work evaluates a nurse-managed critical care environment. Common features include a case mix based on nursing need with nurses having authority to admit and discharge patients. While results are generally favourable, with improved patient independence, fewer readmissions, lower mortality and cost savings reported in some or all of the studies, all studies reviewed demonstrate the difficulties of applying an experimental model to real life clinical services. Methodological limitations render firm conclusions difficult. Techniques adopted from studies in field settings, the so-called 'quasi-experiment', are advocated as a remedy, as is further study of the process of care in investigating this model of care delivery.     

Transfection with bacterial genes as a marker for cells seeded on vascular flow surfaces

Autologous seeding of vascular grafts has been in use since 1972; however, the fate of seeded cells has never been determined. While short-term retention has been determined by radioactively labeling cells, long-term studies of seeded cells have not been possible due to the lack of an appropriate marker system. We have developed a long-term marker system for endothelial cells by transfecting the cells with bacterial genes that can be detected by fluorescentally-labeled antibodies to these markers. Two bacterial genes, neo and cat both carried by a pSV2 plasmid construct were used to co-transfect cells. Transfects were selected by growth in the presence of G418. Transfected clones were expanded into monolayers that stained positive for cat by fluorescence, and retained the normal cobblestone morphology and factor VIII staining of endothelial cells. By stably transfecting cells with bacterial genes these cells can now be used to seed vascular grafts and follow the long-term fate of seeded cells.     

Convergence of Genetic, Nutritional and Inflammatory Factors in Gastrointestinal Cancers

Gastrointestinal cancers account for 20% of all cancer incidences worldwide. Colorectal cancer is the second most common cause of all cancer-related mortality and is increasing in Western societies. Infection and inflammation contribute to 15–20% of all malignancies, and are predisposing risk factors for gastrointestinal cancers. Helicobacter pylori infection is commonly associated with gastric cancers, and chronic inflammation increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 1% per year. Micronutrient status and common genetic variations in human populations modify risk for gastrointestinal cancer. Chronic inflammation promotes carcinogenesis by inducing gene mutations, inhibiting apoptosis, and stimulating an-giogenesis and cell proliferation. Inflammation also induces epigenetic alterations that are associated with cancer development. Two key genes in the inflammatory process, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kB), provide a mechanistic link between inflammation and cancer and are targets for chemoprevention. Dietary components, and human genetic variation that affects nutrient utilization, can directly modify inflammatory processes and/or suppress genomic alterations that are the molecular antecedents of cancers. The present report focuses on the convergence of genetic, nutritional, and inflammatory factors in the initiation and progression of gastrointestinal cancers, and the emerging dietary strategies for cancer prevention.     

Pyridoxine Deficiency and Ethanol-induced Liver Injury

It has been suggested that pyridoxine deficiency may potentiate ethanol-induced liver injury. Our purpose was to clarify the effect of pyridoxine deficiency on ethanol-associated liver injury by comparing liver histology, serum liver enzymes, and the viability of cultured hepatocytes from pyridoxine-deficient and pyridoxine-sufficient rats that had been chronically fed ethanol-enriched diets. Our data fail to substantiate that pyridoxine-deficient animals are more susceptible to the hepatotoxic effects of ethanol than pair-fed pyridoxine-sufficient controls. Furthermore, the addition of pyridoxine to hepatocyte cultures fails to prevent in vitro cytotoxicity of added ethanol. Pyridoxine deficiency may augment ethanol-induced enhancement of hepatic urea synthesis. These data suggest that pyridoxine deficiency may contribute to the abnormal plasma amino acid profiles and nitrogen balance of chronic alcoholics, but that it does not potentiate ethanol-induced liver injury.