Regulation of fluid intake in dogs following water deprivation

Whereas water loss in land living animals occurs continuously, water intake takes place discontinuously. At the normal operating set point of plasma osmolality, urine is more concentrated than plasma due to secretion of vasopressin. Thus animals operate around a state of mild dehydration. As water loss occurs, the severity of dehydration and thirst increase in intensity and at some point water intake occurs. Sufficient water is consumed to return plasma osmolality to the normal operating set point. Food intake and water balance are interdependent as food provides the osmoles which determine obligatory renal solute excretion. When dry food with the same osmotic content was substituted for canned food (water content 74%), dogs increased water intake from 24.2 +/- 4.3 to 62.2 +/- 8.8 ml/kg. Urine output and urine osmolality were unchanged, as under conditions of normal hydration, near maximal urine concentration is achieved. Changing water intake is the only available variable to maintain water balance. During water deprivation, the major renal mechanism appears to be natriuresis. In rehydration, satiety mechanisms ensure appropriate water intake and renal sodium conservation restores sodium balance.     

The Role of Instructional Set on Alcoholic Performance

This study was conducted to determine whether alcoholic and control subjects respond differently to manipulations that either enhance personal involvement (PI) or reduce negative affect (R, relaxation) on tests of neuropsychological function. In Phase 1, 48 male alcoholics and 36 male control subjects completed neuropsychological tasks under standard instructional sets. In Phase 2, subjects completed equivalent forms of these tests under one of three randomly assigned conditions; the PI condition in which subjects were encouraged to identify specific ways of improving their performance, the R condition in which subjects participated in a short relaxation exercise designed to reduce anxiety, or a No Treatment (NT) condition in which no attempt to manipulate the subjects' involvement or affect was made. Alcoholics were inferior to controls in both Phase 1 and Phase 2 [Fs (1,82) > 5.03, ps < 0.03]. The experimental manipulation differentially affected measures of negative affect and effort in the predicted direction. There were no group x condition interactions. Alcoholic and control subjects responded comparably to the experimental manipulations. This investigation, in combination with others using related manipulations, reinforces the hypothesis that alcohol-related cognitives dysfunction reflects an underlying deficit in brain states.     

Seizures with Onset in the Sensorimotor Face Area: Clinical Patterns and Results of Surgical Treatment in 20 Patients

Summary: It is not generally appreciated that intractable seizures involving the face area are amenable to surgical treatment. Twenty patients with onset of sensorimotor seizures in the face area of the pre- and postcentral gyri have been studied and surgically treated since 1948. Seizures started in the face, tongue, or throat, followed by diverse patterns depending on spread of seizure activity. Two patients had epilepsia partialis continua; 6 had either tonic or atonic drop attacks. All patients had pre- and postcentral face area resections, 12 in the dominant hemisphere. In addition, 3 had more extensive postcentral removal, 7 had temporal lobe, and 4 had small separate or contiguous frontal or parietal resection. Because the seizures were not sufficiently reduced by the first operation, 6 required reoperation; 4 of these patients had residual epileptiform activity on electrocorticogram (ECoG) after the first resection. Three patients had new neurologic signs that did not return to the preoperative level, but in 2 of them the deficit related mainly to higher resection in the central area. All but 2 of these 20 patients had at least moderate seizure reduction. Corticectomy can be performed for treatment of seizures arising in the lower central area and usually does not lead to significant permanent neurologic deficit.     

Measurement of free and total hydroxyproline by automated flow injection of serum or urine samples from maintenance hemodialysis patients with renal osteodystrophy

An automated measurement of total and free hydroxyproline in serum or urine is presented that uses flow injection analysis. After exclusion of nonspecific substances, hydroxyproline was oxidized by chloramine- T and L-cysteine with Ehrlich's reagent. The linearity obtained was from 3.8μmole/ L to 1.22 mmole/L with good precision (CV <3%). Comparison of the proposed method with HPLC yielded r = 0.939 as the correlation coefficient. Reference intervals of free and total hydroxyproline are 1.4–9.7 μmole/L, 3.8–27.2 μmole/L for serum, and 10.0–72.5 μmole/L, 25.2–303.6 μmole/L for urine, respectively. Serum free and total hydroxyproline levels in renal osteodystrophy patients on maintenance hemodialysis (N = 71) were significantly higher than in controls (P<0.0001). This method is superior to the use of HPLC with regard to stability of the color reaction. The measurement of serum free and total hydroxyproline is a useful marker for therapeutic observation of renal osteodystrophy patients. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

介入治疗并发症的发生与防治

介入治疗是融合了内科药物治疗、外科手术治疗及医学影像学的一种特殊的治疗体系 ,其疗效受到世人瞩目并成为目前发展最为迅速的学科之一。但是 ,再好的方法也会存在不足之处 ,介入治疗也不例外。随着介入治疗在各家医院的普遍应用 ,并发症的发生也会越来越多 ,迫使人们关注这个问题。所谓介入治疗并发症 ,是指因血管造影及 (或 )血管内治疗所引起、需要一定治疗、使病人的治疗复杂化或延长病人住院时间的不良反应 ,就其全身多系统而言 ,介入治疗引发并发症的原因大致可归纳为两个主要因素即介入器材操作和引入人体内的物质(包括介入治疗所…     

Migration and chemical modification of silicone in women with breast prostheses

Studies using magnetic resonance spectroscopy in human volunteers to evaluate their livers in vivo and to analyze their blood in vitro suggest that there are measurable amounts of silicon compounds in the blood of some women with implants and that there is migration of silicone to other organs such as the liver.     

A critical assessment of allergen component-based in vitro diagnosis in cherry allergy across Europe

BACKGROUND: Food allergy to cherry occurs throughout Europe, typically with restricted oral reactions in the central and northern parts but with frequent systemic reactions in the Mediterranean region. Previous studies have demonstrated insufficient sensitivity of commercially available cherry extract reagents in the diagnosis of cherry allergy. OBJECTIVE: To assess the diagnostic performance of specific IgE tests based on recombinant cherry allergens in comparison with an extract-based assay and to skin prick test (SPT). A secondary objective was to analyse the frequency of systemic reactions in cherry-allergic subjects across Europe, including the largest population of LTP-sensitized subjects from central Europe studied to date. METHODS: A total of 186 subjects from central Europe and Spain were studied. Serum IgE was analysed with ImmunoCAP tests carrying rPru av 1, 3 and 4, combined and separately, and cherry extract. RESULTS: Among the central European cherry allergics, the mix of rPru av 1, 3 and 4 had a sensitivity of 95%, compared with 65% for cherry extract, and the IgE binding capacity of the recombinant mix was considerably higher. The sensitivity of the two tests was more comparable in the Spanish population, 95% and 86%, respectively. The recombinant allergen ImmunoCAP equalled SPT in terms of sensitivity and specificity. Consistent with previous reports, major geographic differences in sensitization pattern and prevalence of systemic reactions were found. A significantly higher rate of systemic reactions was found in Spanish patients sensitized to Pru av 3 whereas German patients sensitized to LTP only had oral allergy syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: The recombinant cherry allergen ImmunoCAP is a highly sensitive diagnostic tool, clearly superior to any diagnostic method based on cherry extract. Three cherry allergens are sufficient for detecting sensitization in 95% of cherry-allergic subjects. Systemic reactions are common in LTP-sensitized individuals but seem to require at least one additional causative factor.     

Ethics and Society: Filiation in assisted reproduction: potential conflicts and legal implications

Filiation, or a person's parentage, is one of the major componentsof someone's identity, often with important implications forthat person's welfare in social and personal terms. Fertilityspecialists are enjoined to consider the welfare of the child,and this is a legal requirement in assisted reproduction techniquesin the UK. This paper is in three parts, discussing some ofthe potential problems regarding filiation of the prospectivechild born of assisted reproduction techniques, in relationto the use of gametes and embryos. The first two parts concentrateon the status of children born as a result of treatment givenposthumously, and on filiation problems associated with donationof gametes or embryos, and surrogacy. The third part comparesBritish and French legislation with special regard to the welfareof the child, as well as underlining the common trends and principlesenunciated in both legislations. This is particularly appropriateat a time when the European Society for Human Reproduction andEmbryology is about to issue ethical guidelines in assistedreproduction, and when both the Council of Europe and the EuropeanCommission have commissioned studies on the implications ofthe assisted techniques, including those concerning status ofthe potential children.     

Graves病的发病与社会心理因素

对１０７例甲状腺机能亢进症患者和９１名正常人采用艾森克个性问卷及自编社会环境的调查显示：４６．９４％的患者起病前有负性生活事件发生，个性特征甲亢组神经不稳定型及掩饰性评分显著高于正常组，有显著性差异，此结果提示甲亢患者存在明显个性缺陷和负性生活事件，这些因素可作为甲亢发病的一种诱因。