Significance of the studies of urinary syndrome in clinical practice]

The study of urinary sediment is essential in laboratory diagnosis. Conventional clinical methods are now used in line with computer-aided techniques and additional microscopy of the sediment elements. The paper provides a brief analysis of clinical situations characterized by appearance in the urine of abnormal numbers of leukocytes, erythrocytes, casts; provides clinical assessment of additional microscopic methods able to accentuate qualitative characteristics of the urinary syndrome; considers possibilities of application of the urinary sediment data in follow-up to improve diagnosis and control on-going treatment.     

Genetic polymorphisms in dopamine-related genes and smoking cessation in women: a prospective cohort study

Background  

Genes involved in dopaminergic neurotransmission have been suggested as candidates for involvement in smoking behavior. We hypothesized that alleles associated with reduced dopaminergic neurotransmission would be more common in continuing smokers than among women who quit smoking.     

Advanced primary breast cancer: assessment at mammography of response to induction chemotherapy

The response to induction chemotherapy is an important prognostic factor in patients with nonmetastatic, locally advanced breast carcinomas. Assessment at mammography of the response of 60 breast cancers in 59 women was performed between 1974 and 1986. Responses were excellent in 13 tumors, moderate in 34, and poor in 13 (excellent moderate = 78%). Assessment of response of discrete masses in a fatty breast was easiest; assessment of response of tumor areas that were poorly defined-such as a focal area of architectural distortion or mass in dense breast parenchyma-was more difficult. Of 17 patients with excellent pathologic responses-that is, minimal or no residual tumor-15 (88%) had complete responses (no residual tumor) as determined with mammography, physical examination, or both. Mammography provides information complementary to physical examination and is essential in the accurate assessment of the response to chemotherapy of locally advanced breast cancer.     

Artificial insemination and in-vitro fertilization using donor spermatozoa: a report on 15 years of experience

Donor insemination (DI) using cryopreserved semen commenced at The Royal Women's Hospital in 1976. Over the next 15 years we performed 5953 treatment cycles to achieve 816 pregnancies (13.7% per cycle) and 706 live births. In-vitro fertilization (IVF) using donor spermatozoa commenced in 1986. Over the next 5 years we performed 303 treatment cycles for 185 couples. Including subsequent transfer of cryopreserved embryos, a total of 33% of couples achieved a successful pregnancy by IVF. Statistical analysis indicated that, for DI pregnancies, the most important semen variable was the percentage post-thaw motility, whilst for normal fertilization in IVF it was the pre-freeze motility. These results may be explained by the compensatory effects of post-thaw processing of spermatozoa for IVF, but not for DI in our clinic.      

Comprehensive Profiling of an Aging Immune System Reveals Clonal GZMK+ CD8+ T Cells as Conserved Hallmark of Inflammaging

1. Download : Download high-res image (177KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

     

Systemic inflammation after inspiratory loading in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Objective

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) present systemic inflammation. Strenuous resistive breathing induces systemic inflammation in healthy subjects. We hypothesized that the increased respiratory load that characterizes COPD can contribute to systemic inflammation in these patients.

Patients and methods

To test this hypothesis, we compared leukocyte numbers and levels of circulating cytokines (tumor necrosis factor alpha [TNFα], interleukin-1β [IL-1β], IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10), before and 1 hour after maximal incremental inspiratory loading in 13 patients with stable COPD (forced expiratory volume in one second [FEV₁] 29 ± 2.5% ref) and in 8 healthy sedentary subjects (FEV₁ 98 ± 5% ref).

Results

We found that: (1) at baseline, patients with COPD showed higher leukocyte counts and IL-8 levels than controls (p < 0.01); and, (2) one hour after maximal inspiratory loading these values were unchanged, except for IL-10, which increased in controls (p < 0.05) but not in patients with COPD.

Conclusions

This study confirms the presence of systemic inflammation in COPD, shows that maximal inspiratory loading does not increase the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-8) in COPD patients or controls, but suggests that the former may be unable to mount an appropriate systemic anti-inflammatory response to exercise.     

Synthesis of Sorption Materials from Low Grade Titanium Raw Materials

In this paper, a universal technology is proposed for processing low-titanium mineral raw material—apatite-nepheline ore waste, including its treatment with sulfuric or hydrochloric acid in a two-stage mode with a sequential increase in the concentration. This technique allowed us to remove nepheline and apatite in the first stage and achieve a titanium mineral content of TiO₂ of more than 30%; in the second stage, we were able to convert the titanium into its precursors—titanyl sulfate monohydrate TiOSO₄·H₂O and a hybrid rutile-silica composition. The key stage in the sorbent synthesis is the reaction of the precursor with a phosphoric acid solution. The preferred sequence of operations begins with the mechanical activation of the precursor, causing morphological changes in it, and subsequent treatment with phosphoric acid at different concentrations under atmospheric conditions and in an autoclave, accompanied by phase transformations. Conditions for the chemical reactions which regulated the composition and structure of the final product and, accordingly, its sorption activity were found. With the help of XFA, the phase compositions of the sorbents were identified, including the individual crystalline phase α-TiP obtained from TS or the crystalline phase αTi(HPO₄)₂∙H₂O, which is in an amorphous silica matrix obtained from a rutile–silica composition.     

Trichomonas vaginalis in HIV/AIDS subjects in Nigeria

ObjectiveTo determine the prevalence of Trichomonas vaginalis (T. vaginalis) in HIV/AIDS patients attending two different hospitals in southeast Nigeria.MethodsWe collected 970 urine samples from HIV/AIDS patients attending two different hospitals in southeast Nigeria. Samples were processed by microscopy and cultural methods.ResultsOut of the 970 screened, 355 (36.60%) were positive for T. vaginalis. Subjects with the least CD4⁺ count in the range of 40-140 cells/mL had the highest number of positive samples (180, 50.70%), while those in the range of 480-580 cells/mL had the least value (2, 0.56%). Those in the rural areas had a higher number of positive samples (155, 38.75%) than their urban counterparts (200, 35.09%) with respect to the total number examined in each group but this was not statistically significant (P>0.05). Out of the 355 positive cases, the university undergraduate students’ group had the highest percentage incidence of 53.00% followed by the low-income group with 47.08%.ConclusionsIt can be concluded that the occurrence of T. vaginalis increases with decrease in the CD4⁺ counts in HIV/AIDS patients in Nigeria. Since T. vaginalis may be an important cofactor in promoting the spread of HIV and, in some circumstances, may have a major impact on the epidemic dynamics of HIV, there is a need to take measures to check the spread of this parasitic infection.