A failure of conduction anesthesia in a patient with latent pathology of the peripheral nervous system]

Patients who have been long exposed to ultrasound and high-frequency currents at work are likely to develop diseases of the peripheral nervous system and thus the risk of nerve damage during conduction anesthesia. Profound examination of the peripheral nervous system before surgery is necessary in such patients. In patients with this pathology general anesthesia will be the technique of choice during surgery on the lower extremities.     

Restoration of disturbed respiration in cats by thyrotrophin releasing hormone

Department of Physiology of Man and Animals, Biological Faculty, M. V. Lomonosov Moscow University. (Presented by Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR I. P. Ashmarin.) Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 106, No. 7, pp. 17–19, July, 1988.     

Chemically synthesized solid phase oligosaccharide probes for carbohydrate-binding receptors. Interactions of the E-, L- and P-selectins with sialyl-Le(x) and O-sulphated forms linked to biotin or to polyacrylamide

There is a growing interest in chemically defined oligosaccharide reagents for identifying proteins that bind carbohydrates and determining the specificities of carbohydrate-binding proteins. Here, we compare three sets of chemically synthesized commercially available oligosaccharide conjugates as immobilized probes, for the binding signals that they elicit with known carbohydrate-binding receptors of the immune system, the E-, P- and L-selectins. The first set of conjugates is of oligosaccharides linked to biotin via a nine-carbon spacer. The second and third sets are multivalent derivatives in which the oligosaccharides are linked, via a three-carbon spacer to poly[N-(2-hydroxyethyl)acrylamide] (PAA) or to biotinylated PAA with an average of 20% substitution of the hydroxyethyl-amide groups by carbohydrate. The conjugates were immobilized on streptavidin-coated microwells if biotinylated, otherwise by drying in uncoated wells. The most robust binding curves, overall, were with the biotinylated PAA derivatives of the ligands immobilized on streptavidin wells. These reagents have permitted a reevaluation of selectin binding signals elicited by sialyl-Lewis(x) (SLe(x)) analogues having sulphate at position 6 of the galactose (6'SuSLe(x)) or of the N-acetylglucosamine (6SuSLe(x)). The results clarify the role of 6SuSLe(x), rather then 6'SuSLe(x), as a ligand for the selectins.     

Prevalence of asthma, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and allergic sensitization in Mongolia

BACKGROUND: Studies in countries, such as Mongolia, which are in transition from farming to industrial society permit evaluation of the impact of environmental change on atopic diseases. METHODS: In the screening study, questionnaire data were obtained from 9453 subjects aged 10-60 years. In the clinical study, a subsample of 869 subjects (participation rate 50.0%) was examined. A questionnaire-based interview, clinical examination, skin prick tests, spirometry and bronchodilation test or methacholine challenge test were used to define the clinical diagnoses. The prevalences of atopic diseases were evaluated at the population level using two-phase data and sampling weights. RESULTS: The prevalences of asthma, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and allergic sensitization with 95% confidence intervals were 1.1% (0.3-2.0%), 9.3% (4.0-14.6%) and 13.6% (7.4-19.9%) in Mongolian villages, 2.4% (1.4-3.5%), 12.9% (8.2-17.7%) and 25.3% (17.1-33.6%) in rural towns and 2.1% (1.3-3.0%), 18.4% (13.3-23.4%) and 31.0% (24.5-37.5%) in Ulaanbaatar city, respectively. The prevalence of allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (P = 0.02) and allergic sensitization (P = 0.003) increased significantly with increasing urbanization. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalences of atopic diseases were low in rural Mongolia and increased with increasing urbanization suggesting that rural living environment protects against atopy.