A self-reported survey of Alzheimer's centers in Southwestern Pennsylvania

Directors of nursing at 23 nursing homes with Alzheimer's units in Southwestern Pennsylvania completed a self‐reported survey of 12 questions. Responses from the self‐administered questionnaires (100% response rate) revealed a wide variation in the staff categories assessing the oral health status of newly admitted residents with AD. The respondents described oral examinations that were incomplete when compared to the oral indicators listed in the Minimum Data Set. All nursing homes reported that oral hygiene was provided each day. The number of residents in a facility had a significant effect on the frequency of oral hygiene provided. Only 52% of the facilities reported yearly oral examinations for this population. According to the respondents, dental treatment was typically performed on‐site. The oral health care costs were paid by Medicare, Medicaid, the residents/family members, or by other undescribed resources. Insufficient time, staff, and training, as well as uncooperative behavior, were identified as barriers to optimum oral health care for residents with AD. Additional staff, specialized training, and increased government reimbursement were suggested to improve the oral health care for this group of older adults. For future studies, review of medical records and on‐site evaluation of the oral health care at these facilities should be required to verify the reported practices.     

低潮气量治疗在机械通气肺结核术后合并呼吸衰竭患者中的应用

目的 探讨低潮气量维持通气对肺结核术后合并呼吸衰竭患者的应用价值。方法 在有效的抗结核、抗感染治疗的基础上，对32例肺结核术后合并呼吸衰竭患者进行低潮气量（6～8ml／kg）机械通气治疗，观察疗效及并发症。结果 呼吸衰竭治愈31例，死亡1例，治愈率96．9％，无明显并发症。结论 低潮气量维持通气对肺结核术后合并呼吸衰竭患者的治疗是安全的，且疗效显著。     

利福喷汀治疗耐利福平肺结核的疗效分析

目的分析增加利福喷汀的用药剂量对利福平耐药肺结核的疗效，以评价利福喷汀在治疗利福平耐药患者中的作用。方法根据药敏结果选取耐利福平肺结核患者101例，分为治疗1组（利福平低耐），治疗2组（利福平高耐），两组治疗方案中均含利福喷汀，对照组（利福平高耐）治疗方案中不合利福喷汀。观察治疗后3、18个月疗效。结果治疗1组在各阶段的痰菌阴转率、病灶吸收和空洞闭和情况明显优于治疗2组和对照组，两组差异有统计学意义；治疗2组的痰菌阴转率、病灶吸收和空洞闭和情况略优于对照组，两者差异无统计学意义。结论对利福平耐药的患者尤其在利福平低度耐药病例中，可以选择增加利福喷汀用药剂量的方案进行治疗，在利福平高度耐药病例中利福喷汀的作用不能确定。     

固定剂量复合剂在省结核病防治规划中应用的研究

目的 研究固定剂量复合剂在省结核病防治规划中应用的可行性.方法 将初治涂阳肺结核病人按登记序号单双分入研究组和对照组.用对照研究方法对两组的完成治疗率、治疗效果、治疗依从性和不良反应等情况进行分析.结果 研究组和对照组在性别、年龄、体重、完成治疗率、督导管理方式和治疗依从性等方面差异无显著性（P值均＞0.05）.研究组的2、3个月未痰菌阴转率和治愈率分别为87.0%、93.5%和93.5%,对照组的2、3个月未痰菌阴转率和治愈率分别为89.4%、93.5%和87.0%,两组间的疗效差异无显著性（P值均＞0.05）.除因链霉素引起的耳鸣（精确概率法P=0.024）外,两组其他不良反应症状出现的比例都无显著性差异（P值均＞0.05）.结论 在结核病防治规划中推广应用固定剂量复合剂是可行的.     

Preparation of protected peptidyl thioester intermediates for native chemical ligation by Nα‐9‐fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl (Fmoc) chemistry: considerations of side‐chain and backbone anchoring strategies,and compatible protection for N‐terminal cysteine*,†

Abstract: Native chemical ligation has proven to be a powerful method for the synthesis of small proteins and the semisynthesis of larger ones. The essential synthetic intermediates, which are C‐terminal peptide thioesters, cannot survive the repetitive piperidine deprotection steps of N^α‐9‐fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl (Fmoc) chemistry. Therefore, peptide scientists who prefer to not use N^α‐t‐butyloxycarbonyl (Boc) chemistry need to adopt more esoteric strategies and tactics in order to integrate ligation approaches with Fmoc chemistry. In the present work, side‐chain and backbone anchoring strategies have been used to prepare the required suitably (partially) protected and/or activated peptide intermediates spanning the length of bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (BPTI). Three separate strategies for managing the critical N‐terminal cysteine residue have been developed: (i) incorporation of N^α‐9‐fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl‐S‐(N‐methyl‐N‐phenylcarbamoyl)sulfenylcysteine [Fmoc‐Cys(Snm)‐OH], allowing creation of an otherwise fully protected resin‐bound intermediate with N‐terminal free Cys; (ii) incorporation of N^α‐9‐fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl‐S‐triphenylmethylcysteine [Fmoc‐Cys(Trt)‐OH], generating a stable Fmoc‐Cys(H)‐peptide upon acidolytic cleavage; and (iii) incorporation of N^α‐t‐butyloxycarbonyl‐S‐fluorenylmethylcysteine [Boc‐Cys(Fm)‐OH], generating a stable H‐Cys(Fm)‐peptide upon cleavage. In separate stages of these strategies, thioesters are established at the C‐termini by selective deprotection and coupling steps carried out while peptides remain bound to the supports. Pilot native chemical ligations were pursued directly on‐resin, as well as in solution after cleavage/purification.     

Surgery for ventricular tachycardia in patients undergoing surgical ventricular restoration: The Karolinska approach

This article presents a review on the efficacy of surgical ventricular restoration and direct surgery for ventricular tachycardia in patients with left ventricular aneurysm or dilated ischemic cardiomyopathy. The procedure includes a non-electrophysiologically guided subtotal endocardiectomy and cryoablation in addition to endoventricular patch plasty of the left ventricle. Coronary artery bypass surgery and mitral valve repair are performed concomitantly as needed. In our experience, this procedure yielded a 90% success rate in terms of freedom from spontaneous ventricular tachycardia, with an early mortality rate of 3.8%. A practical guide to the pre- and postoperative management of these patients is provided. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi: ) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

实施归口管理对肺结核病人发现率和治愈率的影响分析

目的　探讨实施结核病归口管理对提高涂阳肺结核病人发现率和治愈率的影响。方法　对 1994年至2 0 0 0年 2 0个参加卫生部加强与促进结核病控制项目县的项目报表和年转归报表进行分析。结果　由于项目县实施了结核病归口管理 ,涂阳病人的发现率、治愈率明显高于未实施结核病归口管理的非项目县。结论　实施结核病归口管理是提高肺结核病人特别是具有传染性肺结核病人发现率和治愈率的有效措施     

Peritoneal dialysis patient survival: a comparison between a Swedish and a Korean centre.

BACKGROUND: Dialysis patient mortality remains high, and this high mortality may be due to many factors. In peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients, old age, co-morbid diseases, malnutrition, low residual renal function (RRF) and a high peritoneal transport rate have been shown to influence survival, but the relative importance of these factors may differ between different patient populations. Besides, centre practice patterns may differ between centres and may influence patient survival. In addition, the literature suggests that dialysis patient survival may be better in Asian than in Caucasian patients. METHODS: The influence of centre and patient characteristics on patient survival was investigated in 132 Korean and 106 Swedish incident PD patients, who underwent initial biochemical measurements and assessment of adequacy of dialysis, nutritional status, RRF and peritoneal transport characteristics. RESULTS: At the start of PD, Korean patients had a higher prevalence of diabetes, peritoneal Kt/V(urea), peritoneal creatinine clearance and peritoneal fluid removal, and lower body mass index, RRF and dialysate to plasma creatinine concentration ratio (D/P Cr) compared with Swedish patients. Significantly more patients from Korea were placed on temporary haemodialysis before PD (100 out of 132) when compared with Swedish patients (21 out of 106). During the follow-up, there was a significantly higher rate of transfer to other units in Korea and a significantly higher rate of kidney transplantation in Sweden. On Kaplan-Meier analysis, overall patient survival did not differ and relative risk for death was also not different between the two centres even after adjustment for age, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, RRF and D/P Cr. On Cox proportional hazards multivariate analysis, age, diabetes, RRF and D/P Cr were found to be independent predictors of mortality in the combined cohort of patients. While age, diabetes and D/P Cr were independent predictors of mortality in Korean patients, age and RRF independently predicted mortality in Swedish patients. CONCLUSION: Although there were significant differences in centre and patient characteristics, we were unable to confirm a survival advantage for Korean over Swedish PD patients. The results of this study suggest that the reported difference in survival between Asian and Caucasian dialysis patients may have been due, in part, to differences in centre and patient characteristics rather than to race as such. The genetic influence on patient characteristics remains, however, to be elucidated.     

结核分枝杆菌稳定L型变异的聚合酶链反应研究

目的：探讨结核分枝杆菌稳定L型变异的分子机制。方法：采用结核分枝杆菌聚合酶链反应(PCR)诊断试剂扩增结核分枝杆菌稳定L型纯培养物的染色体DNA，琼脂糖凝胶电泳、聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳(polyscrylamid gel electrophoresis，PAGE)薄层凝胶扫描分析。结果：结核分枝杆菌稳定L型比细菌型多一DNA条带。结论：结核分枝杆菌稳定L型的形成可能与基因突变有关，在特异性PCR反应中可形成与其亲代细菌型有差异的产物。