An alkylpolyglucoside surfactant as a prospective pharmaceutical excipient for topical formulations: The influence of oil polarity on the colloidal structure and hydrocortisone in vitro/in vivo permeation

There is a growing need for research into new skin- and environment-friendly surfactants. This paper focuses on a natural surfactant of an alkylpolyglucoside type, which can form both thermotropic and lyotropic liquid-crystalline phases. The aim of this study was to relate some physicochemical properties (characterised by polarisation and transmission electron microscopy, thermal analysis and rheology) of the three formulations based on cetearyl glucoside and cetearyl alcohol, to the results of in vitro and in vivo bioavailability of hydrocortisone (HC). The three formulations contained oils of different polarity (medium chain triglycerides: MG, isopropyl myristate: IPM and light liquid paraffin: LP), respectively. In vitro permeation was followed through the artificial skin constructs (ASC), while the parameters measured in vivo were erythema index: EI (using instrumental human skin blanching assay), transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and stratum corneum hydration (SCH). The vehicles based on cetearyl glucoside and cetearyl alcohol showed a complex colloidal structure of lamellar liquid-crystalline and lamellar gel-crystalline type, depending on oil polarity. Rheological profile of the vehicle was directly related to the in vitro profile of the HC permeation. In vivo results suggested that the vehicle with MG retarded the HC permeation, whereas less polar IPM and non-polar LP enhanced it. It is suggested that the enhancement is achieved either by a direct interaction with lipid lamellae of the SC or indirectly by improving skin hydration.

There were no adverse effects during in vivo study, which indicates a good safety profile of this alkylpolyglucoside surfactant.     

Short-term suppression of plasma free fatty acids fails to improve insulin sensitivity when intramyocellular lipid is elevated.

AIMS: Metabolic responses to manipulation of the plasma free fatty acid (FFA) concentration were assessed in six healthy men via cross-over design to determine whether FFAs independently influence insulin sensitivity. METHODS: Intramyocellular lipid (IMCL) was measured by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy and insulin sensitivity via frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT) after 67 h of two identical low carbohydrate/high fat (LC) diets which were used to elevate IMCL and plasma FFAs. To uncouple the influence of FFAs and IMCL on insulin sensitivity, FFAs were suppressed 30 min prior to and during IVGTT in one treatment [LC + nicotinic acid (NA)] by NA ingestion. RESULTS: Vastus lateralis IMCL was significantly elevated in LC (13.3 +/- 1.1 x 10(-3)) and LC + NA (13.5 +/- 1.1 x 10(-3)) (P < 0.01 for both), but was not different between conditions (P > 0.05). Plasma FFAs were raised in LC (0.79 +/- 0.08 mmol/l) and LC + NA (0.80 +/- 0.11 mmol/l) (P < 0.01 for both) and were significantly reduced by NA ingestion prior to (0.36 +/- 0.05 mmol/l, P < 0.01) and during IVGTT (P < 0.05) in LC + NA. Despite marked differences in plasma FFA availability, insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance were not different between LC and LC + NA (P > 0.05 for both). CONCLUSIONS: Plasma FFAs appear to exert no immediate effect on insulin sensitivity/glucose tolerance independent of their action on intracellular lipid moieties. Further research is required to elucidate the duration of FFA suppression required to restore insulin sensitivity following lipid-induced insulin resistance.     

Effect of adiposity on plasma lipid transfer protein activities: a possible link between insulin resistance and high density lipoprotein metabolism

Abstract. The mechanisms responsible for the decreased high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels associated with obesity and insulin resistance are not well understood. Lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) and cholesterol ester transfer protein (CETP) are key factors in the esterification of cholesterol in HDL and the subsequent transfer of cholesteryl ester towards apolipoprotein B-containing lipoproteins. Phospholipid transfer protein (PLTP) may be involved in the regulation of HDL particle size. We therefore measured the activities of LCAT, CETP and PLTP using exogenous substrate assays, as well as lipids, lipoproteins, insulin and C-peptide in fasting plasma from eight healthy obese men (body mass index >27 kg m^-2) and 24 non-obese subjects. The obese men had lower levels of HDL cholesterol (P<0·05) and higher levels of plasma triglycerides (P<0·05), insulin (P<0·05) and C-peptide (P<0·01), as compared to the quartile of subjects with the lowest body mass index (BMI <22·4 kg m^-2). CETP and PLTP activities were elevated in the obese men by 35% (P<0·01) and by 15% (P<0·05), respectively. LCAT activity was comparable among the quartiles. Linear regression analysis showed that CETP activity was positively correlated with body mass index (P<0·02), fasting blood glucose (P7lt;0·05) and plasma C-peptide (P<0·05). PLTP activity was positively related to body mass index (P<0·01), waist to hip circumference ratio (P<0·001), as well as to fasting blood glucose (P<0·05) and plasma C-peptide (P<0·05) It is concluded that the activities of CETP and PLTP are influenced by adiposity and possibly by insulin resistance. Elevated lipid transfer protein activities may provide a mechanism that contributes to alterations in HDL in insulin resistant states.     

山东农村511名高中生伤害的现况调查

目的 调查高中生伤害的情况、危险因素及其影响，为制定高中生伤害的预防措施提供依据。方法 以整群抽样的方法在山东省利津县某高中9个班的511名高中生中进行调查和描述性分析。结果 在过去一年里所调查的高中生8种伤害(车祸、中毒、跌落、烧烫伤、电击伤、钝／锐器伤、动物昆虫叮咬伤、溺水)的总发生率为15．5％，男、女生发生率分别为18．5％、11．9％。发生率最高的前4位伤害依次是跌落伤(7．6％)、中毒(4．3％)、车辆伤(3．3％)和钝／锐器伤(3.1％)。家中常发生中毒、烧烫伤，学校常发生跌落伤和钝／锐器伤。平均每人次伤害花费最大的是车辆伤，其次为跌落伤；平均影响学习时间最长的是车辆伤，其次为烧烫伤和跌落伤。伤害发生率在性别和父亲健康状况上有显著性差异。结论 针对不同伤害特点采取相应预防措施，以降低伤害发生率，促进青少年健康，减少社会健康损失和经济损失。     

Combined treatment with a 5HT1A receptor agonist and a muscarinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist disrupts water maze navigation behavior

The present study was designed to investigate the effects of combined treatment with a serotonin (5-HT)_1A receptor agonist, 8-hydroxy-2-(dipropylamino)-tetralin (8-OH-DPAT), and a muscarinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist, scopolamine, on water maze (WM) navigation. Treatment with either 8-OH-DPAT or scopolamine before daily behavioral training disrupted spatial navigation at medium doses and cue navigation at high doses. Pretraining treatment with a combination of subthreshold doses of 8-OH-DPAT and scopolamine impaired WM spatial and cue navigation, but did not impair the WM performance if the drugs were injected post-training. In trained rats, combined injections of subthreshold doses of 8-OH-DPAT and scopolamine given pretraining did not impair the rats' ability to find the platform in a familiar or in a novel position. The combination of 8-OH-DPAT and scopolamine also disrupted WM navigation in rats with central 5-HT depletion. A combination of a peripheral muscarinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist and 8-OH-DPAT had no effect on WM navigation. These data suggest that combined treatment with drugs blocking muscarinic acetylcholine receptors and activating 5-HT_1A receptors greatly impairs WM learning/performance, but does not impair spatial memory per se.     

SRTR Center-Specific Reporting Tools: Posttransplant Outcomes

Measuring and monitoring performance—be it waiting list and posttransplant outcomes by a transplant center, or organ donation success by an organ procurement organization and its partnering hospitals—is an important component of ensuring good care for people with end-stage organ failure. Many parties have an interest in examining these outcomes, from patients and their families to payers such as insurance companies or the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; from primary caregivers providing patient counseling to government agencies charged with protecting patients.
The Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients produces regular, public reports on the performance of transplant centers and organ procurement organizations. This article explains the statistical tools used to prepare these reports, with a focus on graft survival and patient survival rates of transplant centers—especially the methods used to fairly and usefully compare outcomes of centers that serve different populations. The article concludes with a practical application of these statistics—their use in screening transplant center performance to identify centers that may need remedial action by the OPTN/UNOS Membership and Professional Standards Committee.     

高效液相色谱法测定硫酸奈替米星注射液的含量

目的采用高效液相色谱法测定硫酸奈替米星及注射液的含量。方法以μ-Diamonsil—C18为分析柱，流动相为1．5％的磷酸二氢钾-乙睛，流速为1．0ml／min，检测渡长为205nm。含量测定用峰面积外标法。结果硫酸奈替米星在0．1—1．6mg／ml浓度范围内呈现良好线性关系，r=0．9998．平均回收率为99．5％，RSD=0．4％（n=9）。结论本方法操作简便、快速，结果准确可靠，重现性好，均能很好地满足质量控制的要求，为开辟氨基糖苷类抗生素含量测定的仪器提供了一定借鉴。     

Long-term outcome and complications of children born with meningomyelocele

The long-term functional outcome of 101 children born with meningomyelocele between 1971 and 1981 was assessed, by a combination of retrospective chart review and follow-up assessments. The children had been managed at birth using a process ofnonstandardized selection. Eighty-three of the 101 patients survived after a minimum follow-up of 8.6 years, for a mortality rate of 18%. Forty-four of 83 children (53%) were community ambulators, and this correlated well with the presence of intact quadriceps function. Forty-eight children (58%) attended normal school and were grade-appropriate. Sixty-two of 83 patients (75%) were socially continent of urine, and 71/83 (86%) were socially continent of stool. Hydrocephalus was present in 93 of the 101 children in the study, and 85 children were shunted. Half of the shunted children required a shunt revision in the first year of life, and thereafter the rate of revision decreased, so that after 2 years the risk of revision was approximately 10% per year.     

胃癌高系家族成员胃蛋白酶原C基因多态性及其诊断意义的探讨

采用限制性酶切片段长度多态性分析法，检测在胃癌高发区庄河检出的１９例胃癌高系家族成员胃蛋白酶原Ｃ基因多态性，发现三种常见片段及一种稀有片段。对其中４例携带稀有片段的受检者进行了胃镜追踪观察，２．５年后发现１例早期胃癌。本文对此作了初步探讨。     

高频喷射通气结合胸壁挤压对组胺致肺损伤犬呼吸循环功能的影响

以高频喷射通气结合胸壁挤压（ＨＦＪＶ＋ＣＷＣ）为通气模式，观察其对组胺致肺损伤犬呼吸循环功能的影响，并与单纯高频喷射通气（ＨＦＪＶ）进行比较。结果表明：与ＨＦＪＶ相比，ＨＦＪＶ＋ＣＷＣ时的功能残气量（ＦＲＣ）、ＰａＣＯ＿２和ＰＣＯ＿２均显著降低（Ｐ＜０．０１），肺泡通气量（Ｖ＿Ａ）和二氧化碳排出量（ＣＯ＿２）均显著增高（Ｐ＜０．０１），每分呼出气量（Ｖ＿Ｅ）、ＰａＯ＿２、ＰＣＯ＿２、吸气峰压（ＰＩＰ）、平均气道压（Ｐａｗ）、呼气末压（ＥＥＰ）、ＨＲ、平均动脉压（ＭＡＰ）、肺动脉压（ＰＡＰ）和肺毛细血管楔压（ＰＣＷＰ）均无显著变化（Ｐ＞０．０５）。提示：ＨＦＪＶ＋ＣＷＣ除保留单纯ＨＦＪＶ时气道开放、气道低压、良好的血液氧合、不影响循环功能等特点外，还具有增加呼气动力，改善肺泡通气，显著促进ＣＯ＿２排除等优点。