Oral contraceptive administration,interfemale relationships,and sexual behavior inMacaca fascicularis

The effects of oral contraceptive administration on the social relationships of adult female cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) were examined. Ten females were administered ethinyl estradiol/ethynodiol diacetate (Demulen), 10 were administered ethinyl estradiol/norgestrel (Ovral), and 10 served as a control group. The monkeys lived in social groups of 5 females each, and patterns of social interaction and social status were recorded. Interfemale relationships were also observed when a vasectomized male was placed in each social group for 50 min, once/week. During the latter observations, preliminary data on the effects of oral contraceptive treatment on sexual interaction were also collected. In the absence of the male, interfemale agonistic interactions and time spent alone were influenced by social status but not by oral contraceptive treatment. Time spent in passive body contact, an affiliative state, was reduced by Ovral treatment. In the presence of the male, dominant females aggressively interfered with the sexual interactions of subordinates. This aggression resulted in the termination of a greater proportion of the sexual interactions of subordinates than dominants in the control group only, indicating suppression of this type of interaction by oral contraceptive treatment. Other effects included a decreased frequency of ejaculation with Ovral-treated females. These results suggest that oral contraceptives may suppress certain types of female agonistic behavior (e.g., in the context of mate competition) and some oral contraceptives may interfere with sexual activity. More broadly, these findings indicate that intrasexual competition for access to mates may occur in females as well as males. This study was supported in part by NICHD Contract #N01-HD-32800 and by Grant #HL14164 from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.     

Immunohistochemical study of oral keratoses including lichen planus

Biopsies of non-ulcerated oral mucosa from 13 patients with oral lichen planus and 12 patients with leukoplakia were immunohistochemically stained using monoclonal antibodies to pan T, pan B, T helper and T suppressor/cytotoxic cells and the stained lymphocytes enumerated using an image analyser. The results show the preponderance of T cells infiltrating both oral lichen planus and leukoplakia. The T helper: T suppressor/cytotoxic cell ratio was the same (1:2) for both oral lichen planus and leukoplakia. A similar proportion of T suppressor/cytotoxic cells was found infiltrating the epithelium. These data indicate that T cell subset analysis is of no value in distinguishing oral lichen planus from other oral keratoses.     

Pharmacokinetics of prednisolone in children with the nephrotic syndrome

The aim of this study was to establish whether the criteria for the clinical effectiveness of steroids are correlated with the pharmacokinetics of prednisolone in children treated with prednisone during an attack of idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS). Thirteen patients with nephrosis were included. Prednisolone, prednisone and cortisol levels were measured using a specific high-performance liquid chromatography assay after an oral dose of 1 mg/kg body weight of prednisone taken at the onset of the disease. All the pharmacokinetic parameters, including the conversion of prednisone to prednisolone were similar to the data already published in children with INS. No correlation was found between the values of pharmacokinetic parameters and criteria of clinical effectiveness. Hypo-albuminaemia was significantly correlated with the area under the plasma-concentration curve but not with the elimination half-life of prednisolone. Moreover, the prednisolone elimination half-life correlated with the urinary exretion of 17-hydroxycorticosteroids achieved in the first 6h. The present study suggests that routine measurements of prednisolone kinetics do not help when assessing the treatment of children with INS.     

lnter-rater reliability of an oral assessment guide for elderly patients residing in a rehabilitation ward

The aim of this study was to test the inter-rater reliability of a revised oral assessment guide (ROAG) for patients residing in a geriatric rehabilitation ward. A consecutive sample of 140 patients was recruited for the study. Oral assessments were performed for 133 newly admitted patients by one registered nurse (RN) during a period of six months. A dental hygienist (DH) carried out 103 oral assessments during the same half-year. For 66 patients, the RN and the DH performed independent assessments. There was an agreement between the RN and the DH in the majority of the independent assessments, except for tongue and teeth/dentures. The percentage agreement exceeded 80 percent. Inter-rater agreement measured by Cohen's Kappa coefficient ranged from moderate to very good and percentage agreement had a range of 58 to 91 percent. The agreement was highest in assessment of voice and swallowing (91%). Assessments of teeth and dentures seemed to be most difficult for the RN to evaluate. ROAG was found to be a clinically useful assessment tool. Additional education and training is needed to improve the reliability of the oral assessments and should include continuous support from a dental hygienist as well as a pictorial manual on how to use the ROAG.     

Small-dose oral iron absorption test in anaemic and non-anaemic elderly hospitalized patients

Abstract: The small-dose (20 mg) oral iron absorption test (OIAT) was performed in 76 hospitalized elderly patients and 30 healthy adults. Of the elderly patients, 34 were considered as iron deficient (serum ferritin level <20 μg/L) of whom 23 were anaemic and 11 not anaemic, 21 had the anaemia of chronic disorders (ACD) and another 21 were non-anaemic patients with a normal serum ferritin level. There was a significant inverse correlation between the serum ferritin level as a measure of iron store and the maximum increase in serum iron during a 3-h test (C_max), in the elderly as well as in the healthy adult group. A decision limit of 80 μg/dL for C_max is a good discriminant between absent (serum ferritin <20 μg/L) and adequate body iron stores. Sixty-eight per cent of the patients with a serum ferritin level <20 μg/L but virtually none of the ACD patients, non-anaemic elderly inpatients with normal serum ferritin levels and healthy adults had a C_max level >80 μg/L. Although further investigation is needed before the OIAT can be recommended as a valuable test for evaluating iron absorption, predicting mild iron deficiency and differentiating between different categories of anaemia, it seems worthwile that more effort should be done to validate this simple and safe test.     

反相HPLC法同时测定饮料中的两种人造甜味剂

应用反相HPLC法，探讨了同一色谱条件下，食品中安赛蜜，糖精钠、咖啡因及苯甲酸的分离条件，并在此基础上建立了饮料中人造甜味剂安赛蜜、糖精钠的测定方法，取得了满意的结果。在反相C_(18)柱上，使用甲醇-冰乙酸-水（20+3.5+76.5）为流动相，可使安赛蜜、糖精钠、咖啡因，苯甲酸快速而良好地分离，254nm波长下检测，安赛蜜的线性范围为0.002～1.00g／L，最小检测量为0.04μg；糖精钠的线性范围为0.005～1.00g／L，最小检测量为0.08μg，在饮料分析中，外标单点校正法测得数据再用标准添加法处理进而求出的回收率分别为安赛蜜97.6％（n=5,CV=0.74%)、103.5%（n=5，CV=1.l%）、95.l%（n=5，CV=0.73%）；糖精钠97.9%（n=5，CV=0.66％）、99.9%（n=5，CV=0.73%)、102.1％（n=5，CV=0.18%）。本方法分析步骤简便，且检测波长适用于国产单波长检测器。     

北京市1989～2002年疫苗相关麻痹型脊髓灰质炎病例的监测

北京市急性弛缓性麻痹 (AFP)病例监测系统 1989～ 2 0 0 2年共诊断疫苗相关麻痹型脊髓灰质炎 (脊灰 )(VAPP) 2 0例 ,其中首次服苗VAPP 18例 ,接触服苗VAPP 2例。所有病例均 <2岁 ,<6月龄病例占 85 %。男女发病之比为 9∶1。每年VAPP发生率无明显季节性高峰和地区差异。VAPP总发生率为 1 2 0 / 10 0万剂口服脊灰减毒活疫苗 (OPV)投放量或 1 5 9/ 10 0万剂OPV接种量 ,首次服苗VAPP发生率为 13 18/ 10 0万剂首次服苗量 ,接触服苗VAPP发生率为 0 16 / 10 0万剂OPV接种量。监测结果表明 ,北京市VAPP发生的危险性高于中国其它省份和其它许多国家与地区 ;免疫缺陷和 /或肛门周围脓肿可能是VAPP重要的危险因素。在中国当前尚未改变脊灰疫苗免疫策略的情况下 ,为减少和避免VAPP的发生 ,必须加强接种前儿童病史询问和体检 ,严格掌握接种禁忌证 ;同时要加强对VAPP的监测工作。     

阿魏酸在血瘀证兔体内的药代动力学

为验证及研究症治药动学假说（ｓｙｎｄｒｏｍｅａｎｄＴｒｅａｔｍｅｎｔＰｈａｒｍａｃｏｋｉｎｅｔｉｃｓ，Ｓ＆ＴＰＫ）的客观性和基本规律，本文以ＲＰ－ＨＰＬＣ法同时测定了活血祛瘀药物阿魏酸在正常及高分子右旋糖酐所制血瘀症（微循环障碍）兔体内经时浓度，以ＭＣＰＫＰ药动学程序在ＣＯＭＰＡＱ８０３８６机上自动拟合了药动学参数。统计结果表明，与正常组相比，阿魏酸在血瘀症兔体内的分布容积（Ｖ＿１和Ｖ＿Ｂ）及消除速率（ＣＬＢ）显著减小（Ｐ＜０．０５），半衰期（ｔ＿（１／２β）及相同时间段曲线下面积（ＡＵＱ）非常显著增加（Ｐ＜０．０１）。结论：实验结果基本符合Ｓ＆ＴＰＫ的观点：即同一药物在不同证兔体内的药代动力学参数经统计学处理有显著差异。     

rhGM-CSF对小鼠口腔粘膜损伤的防治作用

目的：探讨rhGM-CSF促进口腔腔溃愈合的作用机制。方法：取体外培养的胎儿口腔粘膜成纤维细胞，用rhGM-CSF刺激成纤维细胞后第2、4、6天用细胞计数及^3H－胸腺嘧啶掺入法（^3H-TdR）测定其增殖情况，结果rhGM-CSF对胎儿口腔粘膜成纤维细胞增殖及DNA合成有刺激作用，在80－100ng/ml时，细胞生长达到最佳状态，过高浓度rhGM-CSF的刺激作用反而下降。结论：rhGM-CSF可以通过刺激成纤维细胞增殖及DNA合成促进口腔溃疡愈合。